Orange Honeysuckle
Lonicera ciliosa
Family: Caprifoliaceae
What it is like
Lonicera ciliosa is an evergreen Climber growing to 10 m (32ft 10in) at a medium rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 5. It is in leaf all year, in flower in June, and the seeds ripen in August. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Insects. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.
Height (m): 10
Where it is found
Woods and thickets from sea level to moderate elevations.
Western N. America - British Columbia to N. Carolina.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 2
Fruit - raw or cooked. Not tasty enough to be widely sought. The fruit is about 5mm in diameter. Children enjoy sucking the nectar from the base of the flowers.
Nectar: produced in such abundance by some flowers that it can be harvested fairly easily.
Medicine
Rating: 2
The leaves are contraceptive and tonic. An infusion has been used as a contraceptive and also as a treatment for problems in the womb. A decoction has been used in the treatment of colds and tuberculosis. A poultice of the chewed leaves has been applied to bruises. An infusion of the woody part of the plant has been drunk in small amounts, or used as a bath, in the treatment of epilepsy.
Contraceptive: Prevents fertilization occurring in females.
Epilepsy: Used in the treatment of Epilepsy - a disorder in which nerve cell activity in the brain is disturbed, causing seizures.
Miscellany: Various medicinal actions that need more clarification.
Poultice: A moist, usually warm or hot, mass of plant material applied to the skin in the treatment of burns etc.
TB: Plants used in the treatment of tuberculosis
Women's complaints: A very vague title, it deals with a miscellany of problems peculiar to the female sex.
Other
Rating: 2
An infusion of the stems is used as a hair shampoo and tonic to make it grow. A fibre obtained from the stem is used in making mats, bags, blankets etc. The stems were used as building materials by the native North American Indians. They were used with willow withes to reinforce suspension bridges across canyons and rivers. They were also twisted with coyote willow to lash together the framing poles of underground pit houses and to make a pliable ladder.
Fibre: Used for making cloth, rope, paper etc.
Hair: Plants used as hair shampoos, tonics, to treat balding etc.
Miscellany: A rag-bag of items that are difficult to categorise.
How it is grown
Prefers a good loamy soil and cool moist conditions at the roots. Succeeds in partial shade. Subject to attacks by aphis, especially in hot dry spells. Climbs by twining around other plants.
Propagating it: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. Stored seed requires 2 months cold stratification and should be sown as soon as possible in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 7 - 10cm with or without a heel, July/August in a frame. Good percentage. Cuttings of mature wood of the current season's growth, 15 - 20cm with or without a heel, November in a cold frame. Good percentage. Layering in autumn.
Best place to grow: Woodland Garden Dappled Shade; Shady Edge;
Habit: Climber
Hardiness: 4-8
Growth: Medium
Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: Semi-shade, no shade
Moisture: Moist
Things to keep in mind
Its other names
Local names
Synonyms
L. ciliosa occidentalis. L. occidentalis. Caprifolium ciliosum. C. occidentale.