Trailing and twining woody vine with branches often several m long. Stems glabrous, becoming covered with reddish-gray shredding bark. Leaves opposite, dark green above and paler below, ovate to elliptic, 3-6 cm (1.2-2.4 in) long and 2-4 cm (0.8-1.6 in) wide, slightly leathery, margins entire, the upper one to several pairs perfoliate. Inflorescence a pair of 3-flowered terminal sessile cymules. Flowers scarlet outside, paler inside, almost radially symmetric, 3-5 cm (1.2-2 in) long, usually blooming in late Spring but sometimes again in early Fall. Fruits reddish-orange, 6-10 mm (0.3-0.4 in) in diameter, ripening in mid-Summer.
Distribution: Native to southeastern U. S. but widely cultivated and escaping elsewhere.
Habitat: Roadsides, fencerows, forest margins.
NWI status: FAC-
Comment: Trumpet honeysuckle is often cultivated for its bright red flowers. Lonicera honors the German herbalist Adam Lonitzer; sempervirens refers to its evergreen habit.
Distribution in Oklahoma: 
BACK
NEXT
RETURN TO INDEX
Last update: 9/14/99
Go to Oklahoma Biological Survey Home Page
Disclaimer