Happy Mystery Monday! Can you guess what is pictured in photo #1?
The answer to last week’s mystery is trumpet honeysuckle, Lonicera sempervirens, pictured in photo #2.
The trumpet honeysuckle, Lonicera sempervirens, also known as coral honeysuckle or woodbine, is a native twining vine in the Caprifoliaceae family. Found across much of the eastern United States, this high-climbing vine can grow from 3–20′ long, using nearby shrubs, fences, or trellises for support.
Its showy, trumpet-shaped flowers are red on the outside and yellow within, appearing in whorled clusters at the ends of the stems. The blooms are rich in nectar and highly attractive to hummingbirds, bees, butterflies, and even nighttime pollinators such as sphinx moths and hawk-moths. Its flowers can continue intermittently until frost, often appearing alongside bright red berries that feed birds including robins, finches, thrushes, and quail.
Unlike many invasive honeysuckles, trumpet honeysuckle is a valuable native vine for butterfly, pollinator, and coastal gardens. Its papery, orange-brown bark adds interest, and because it flowers on new wood, it can be pruned in late winter. The name “honeysuckle” comes from the old tradition of pulling a flower apart to taste the tiny drop of sweet nectar inside, though the berries should be left for wildlife, as they can be toxic to humans.
Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum.
