Bush honeysuckle | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Dipsacales |
Family: | Caprifoliaceae |
Subfamily: | Diervilloideae |
Genus: |
Diervilla Tourn. ex Mill. [1] |
Species | |
See text |
Diervilla, or bush honeysuckle, is a genus of three species of deciduous shrubs in the family Caprifoliaceae, all indigenous to eastern North America. The genus is named after a French surgeon Dr. Marin Diereville, who introduced the plant to Europe around 1700.
The bush honeysuckles are low in height, 1–2 m (3–7 ft), of small to medium diameter, 1–2 m (3–7 ft), and develop into colonies by means of spreading underground rhizomes. Their leaves are simple, opposite and either oval or lanceolate in shape with a toothed edge. The fall color varies between yellow, orange and red. Small tubular flowers, typically pale yellow, are produced in June and July.
Image | Common Name | Scientific name | Distribution |
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northern bush honeysuckle (other names low bush honeysuckle, dwarf bush honeysuckle, yellow-flowered upright honeysuckle) | Diervilla lonicera | from Northern Quebec and Labrador to Georgia and Alabama and reaches as far west as Saskatchewan | |
mountain bush honeysuckle (other names Georgia bush honeysuckle, hairy bush honeysuckle) | Diervilla rivularis | Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee. | |
southern bush honeysuckle | Diervilla sessilifolia | the Great Smoky Mountains and the southern Appalachian Mountains |
Other species formerly included in Diervilla are now treated in the genus
Weigela. The bush honeysuckles are commonly confused with the common wild honeysuckle (
Lonicera tatarica), or the
Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), both members of the closely related genus
Lonicera.
The British Diervilla national collection is held at Sheffield Botanical Gardens; along with the national collection of the closely related genus Weigela. [2]
Diervilla species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including the common emerald and the engrailed moths.