Italian honeysuckle
Lonicera caprifolium
Family: Caprifoliaceae
What it is like
A deciduous climber. It grows 4.5-6 m long. It can be grown as a ground cover. The leaves are in fused pairs 5-10 cm long. The flowers are creamy-white to yellow. They can have pink tints. The flowers are 5 cm long. They are cupped by the blue-green uppermost leaves. The fruit are orange-red berries.
There are about 150 Lonicera species. It has become an aggressive weed throughout the Americas.
Where it is found
It is a temperate plant. It is frost hardy. It suits hardiness zones 5-9.
Countries/locations it is found in
Australia, Austria, Britain, Central America, Central Asia, Czech, Dominican Republic, Europe, Haiti, Italy, Mediterranean, North America, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Türkiye, USA, West Indies
How it is used for food
CAUTION: The fruit may be poisonous. The flowers are eaten as a snack. The young shoots are eaten in salads.
It is cultivated.
Edible parts
Fruit, flowers, shoots
How it is grown
Its other names
Local names
Caprifoglio, Honeysuckle, Ingannacapre, Kovačnik, Perfioliate