Southern honeysuckle is a dicot angiosperm in the Caprifoliaceae (Honeysuckle) family that is endemic to California, where it is known from several areas in mountain and coastal habitat, particularly chaparral. It is a vining shrub, somewhat woody at the base, and generally climbs or reclines on what are mostly sturdier shrubs for support.
The caprifoliaceae is a rather small family of about 250 species restricted to northern temperate regions. Recent taxonomic changes prompted M. L.Charters, one of Southern California’s leading botanists, to characterize the caprifoiaceae as “one of the most confusing families I have encountered.”
Known commonly as the southern or chaparral honeysuckle, its scientific name is lonicera subspicata. A straggling evergreen shrub, its leaves are opposite, widely elliptic to round-ovate, entire-margined, subglabrous to whitish-pubescent beneath, to 1-1/4″ long, and sometimes revolute. The upper pairs of leaves are not fused around the stem as they are in lonicera interrupta. The flowers exist in small whorls, or clusters, along a spike that is often glandular-hairy and 3/4″ to 4-1/2″ long. The calyx tube is ovoid, very short, and minutely 5-cleft. The corolla is cream-colored to yellowish, two-lipped with the upper lip 4-lobed and the lower lip a single lobe, and often hairy. There are 5 stamens with the filaments pubescent at the base, and the style, stigma and stamens are strongly exserted. The fruit is a yellow or reddish berry about 5/16″ in diameter.
Members of the honeysuckle family characteristically have flowers with bilateral symmetry, tubular corollas with five lobes, five stamens and an inferior ovary that becomes a juicy berry. Leaves are opposite. The genus Lonicera, which includes the ornamental honeysuckles, is the best-known genus in this family.
Southern honeysuckle is quite common on dry slopes below 5,000 feet in elevation on chaparral slopes and shaded woodlands, blooming from April to June. It is easily recognizable as a honeysuckle with leaves that are 3-4 times longer than wide. The lonicera subspicata var. subspicata. denudata’s leaves are less than or equal to twice as long as wide.
Lonicera subspicat reaches a length of anywhere from three feet to eight feet.
Among the butterflies, moths and other insects likely or confirmed to be hosted by the Southern Honeysuckle are the ashy pleromelloida moth, the pleromelloida cinerea; the owlet moth, behrensia conchiformis; the variable checkerspot butterfly, euphydryas chalcedona, the white-lined sphinx, hyles lineata, the genista caterpillar, uresiphita reversalis; the corn earworm moth, helicoverpa zea; the canary ypsolopha moth; ypsolopha canariella; the hitched arches moth, melanchra adjuncta; the fall webworm, hyphantria cunea; the geranium plume moth, amblyptilia pica; the orange tortrix moth, argyrotaenia franciscana; the omnivorous looper, sabulodes aegrotata; the black form concerta moth, pleromelloida conserta; the tetracis mosesiani; the ero radiosaria; the sympistis ragani; the pandemis leafroller moth, pandemis pyrusana; the western avocado leafroller moth, amorbia cuneana, the perittia passula moth; the euceratia securella moth; and the
and the euceratia castella moth.
The caprifoliaceae is a rather small family of about 250 species restricted to northern temperate regions. Recent taxonomic changes prompted M. L.Charters, one of Southern California’s leading botanists, to characterize the caprifoiaceae as “one of the most confusing families I have encountered.”
Known commonly as the southern or chaparral honeysuckle, its scientific name is lonicera subspicata. A straggling evergreen shrub, its leaves are opposite, widely elliptic to round-ovate, entire-margined, subglabrous to whitish-pubescent beneath, to 1-1/4″ long, and sometimes revolute. The upper pairs of leaves are not fused around the stem as they are in lonicera interrupta. The flowers exist in small whorls, or clusters, along a spike that is often glandular-hairy and 3/4″ to 4-1/2″ long. The calyx tube is ovoid, very short, and minutely 5-cleft. The corolla is cream-colored to yellowish, two-lipped with the upper lip 4-lobed and the lower lip a single lobe, and often hairy. There are 5 stamens with the filaments pubescent at the base, and the style, stigma and stamens are strongly exserted. The fruit is a yellow or reddish berry about 5/16″ in diameter.
Members of the honeysuckle family characteristically have flowers with bilateral symmetry, tubular corollas with five lobes, five stamens and an inferior ovary that becomes a juicy berry. Leaves are opposite. The genus Lonicera, which includes the ornamental honeysuckles, is the best-known genus in this family.
Southern honeysuckle is quite common on dry slopes below 5,000 feet in elevation on chaparral slopes and shaded woodlands, blooming from April to June. It is easily recognizable as a honeysuckle with leaves that are 3-4 times longer than wide. The lonicera subspicata var. subspicata. denudata’s leaves are less than or equal to twice as long as wide.
Lonicera subspicat reaches a length of anywhere from three feet to eight feet.
Among the butterflies, moths and other insects likely or confirmed to be hosted by the Southern Honeysuckle are the ashy pleromelloida moth, the pleromelloida cinerea; the owlet moth, behrensia conchiformis; the variable checkerspot butterfly, euphydryas chalcedona, the white-lined sphinx, hyles lineata, the genista caterpillar, uresiphita reversalis; the corn earworm moth, helicoverpa zea; the canary ypsolopha moth; ypsolopha canariella; the hitched arches moth, melanchra adjuncta; the fall webworm, hyphantria cunea; the geranium plume moth, amblyptilia pica; the orange tortrix moth, argyrotaenia franciscana; the omnivorous looper, sabulodes aegrotata; the black form concerta moth, pleromelloida conserta; the tetracis mosesiani; the ero radiosaria; the sympistis ragani; the pandemis leafroller moth, pandemis pyrusana; the western avocado leafroller moth, amorbia cuneana, the perittia passula moth; the euceratia securella moth; and the
and the euceratia castella moth.
From https://calscape.org, www.calflora.net and https://thenaturecollective.org