HONEYSUCKLE FAMILY 



cies ; and it, too, has sparingly escaped. It looks not 

 unlike Lonicera tartarica, and bears its red berries well 

 past midsummer. Lonicera fragrantissima is a species 

 recently introduced whose value chiefly lies in its 

 fragrant flowers which are produced in April. Mid- 

 summer finds it a leafy bush of rather pale green 

 foliage. 



Our northern Lonicera bushes are interesting but not 

 so conspicuous in flower and fruit as to bring them very 

 generally into cultivation. To be known they must 

 be sought in their native wilds. There are four of 

 them, Lonicera cojrnlea, Lonicera oblongifolia, Lonicera 

 ciliata, and Lonicera involucrata. 



Lonicera involucrata is the largest of the four, and 

 bears the largest leaves ; its personal characteristic is 

 the involucre which surrounds the fruit. It is really a 

 Canadian plant and rarely crosses our northern boun- 

 dary. Lonicera ccerulea is probably named for the curi- 

 ous, two-eyed, blue berry which it bears. Lonicera cili- 

 ata has a very downy leaf in early spring and a very 

 glabrous one in midsummer. Lonicera obloyigifolia has 

 no marked distinguishing character, but is doing fairly 

 well in cultivation, and gardeners are recommending it. 

 The Lonicera fruit is a berry ; it may be sweet or sour, 

 but never fails to be bitter. 



SWAMP FLY-HONEYSUCKLE 



Lonicera oblong if blia. 



An erect shrub, two to five feet high ; found in bogs and 

 swamps. Ranges from Quebec to Manitoba, south to Pennsyl- 

 vania, and west to Michigan. 



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