Lonicera involucrata

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Lonicera involucrata
Lonicera involucrata ledebourii.jpg
Lonicera involucrata var. ledebourii
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Dipsacales
Family: Caprifoliaceae
Genus: Lonicera
Species:
L. involucrata
Binomial name
Lonicera involucrata
Lonicera involucrata NA-dist-map.png
Distribution
Synonyms [2]
  • Lonicera ledebouriiEschsch.

Lonicera involucrata, the bearberry honeysuckle, bracted honeysuckle, twinberry honeysuckle, Californian Honeysuckle, [3] twin-berry, or black twinberry, is a species of honeysuckle native to northern and western North America.

Contents

Description

It is a large shrub that can grow 0.5–5 metres (1+1216+12 feet) high, [4] with shoots with a quadrangular cross-section.

The leaves are elliptic to oval-shaped, 3–14 centimetres (1–5+12 inches) long [4] and 2–8 cm (1–3 in) broad; they are hairy along the margins and on the underside, and have a distinctive abruptly acuminate tip. They are of opposite arrangement. [4]

The flowers are yellow, tubular, hairy, 1–2 cm long, and are monoecious; they are produced in pairs from leaf axils, [4] subtended by a pair of reddish basal bracts 2–4 cm across.

The fruit is a black berry, 6–12 millimetres (1412 in) wide, containing several small seeds, [5] [6] [7] ripening in mid-to-late summer. [8] It is unpalatable. [4]

Varieties

There are two varieties: [6] [9] [10]

Distribution and habitat

It is found from southern Alaska east across boreal Canada to Quebec, and south through the western United States to California, and to Chihuahua in northwestern Mexico. It grows at elevations from sea level to 2,900 m (9,500 ft). [11] [5] [6]

It grows in moist, wooded areas, especially in clearings and on the edges of wetlands. Its Wetland Indicator Status is FAC+, so it is equally likely to be found in wetlands and non-wetlands.

Ecology

The berries are eaten by bears, birds, and small mammals, and the flowers are an important source of nectar for hummingbirds, butterflies, and moths. [12] The twigs and leaves are browsed by deer. [13] However, in some parts of its range the plants are not abundant enough to be a staple food for wildlife. [14]

Conservation

While its conservation status is considered to be secure through most of its range, black twinberry is considered vulnerable in Alaska, Manitoba, and Colorado and critically imperiled in Wisconsin. [1]

Toxicity

The berries is probably inedible and possibly poisonous, despite sometimes being reported otherwise. [4] [15] Pacific Northwest Coast indigenous groups referred to them as 'monster food' and 'crow berry' for this reason. [16] [13]

Uses

It is often used as an ornamental plant. It is resistant to air pollution, and can be kept in a large garden. [17] It is commonly used in restoration applications throughout its native range, especially in riparian zones for stream bank stabilization. [12]

Native American groups such as the Quileute, Kwakwaka’wakw, and Haida made use of the plant in various ways. The berries were used to make black pigment and hair dye, and the bark, berries and leaves were made into poultices and teas. [12] The bark was used along with willow bark to weave clothing. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Honeysuckle</span> Genus of flowering plants

Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or twining vines in the genus Lonicera of the family Caprifoliaceae. The genus includes 158 species native to northern latitudes in North America, Eurasia, and North Africa. Widely known species include Lonicera periclymenum, Lonicera japonica and Lonicera sempervirens. L. japonica is a highly invasive species considered a significant pest in parts of North America, Europe, South America, New Zealand, Australia, and Africa.

<i>Arctostaphylos uva-ursi</i> Species of fruit and plant

Arctostaphylos uva-ursi is a plant species of the genus Arctostaphylos widely distributed across circumboreal regions of the subarctic Northern Hemisphere. Kinnikinnick is a common name in Canada and the United States. Growing up to 30 centimetres in height, the leaves are evergreen. The flowers are white to pink and the fruit is a red berry.

<i>Holodiscus discolor</i> Species of flowering plant

Holodiscus discolor, commonly known as ocean spray or oceanspray, creambush, or ironwood, is a shrub of western North America.

<i>Lonicera caerulea</i> Honeysuckle plant

Lonicera caerulea, also known by its common names blue honeysuckle, sweetberry honeysuckle, fly honeysuckle, blue-berried honeysuckle, or the honeyberry, is a non-climbing honeysuckle native throughout the cool temperate Northern Hemisphere regions of North America, Europe, and Asia.

<i>Prunus subcordata</i> Species of tree

Prunus subcordata, known by the common names Klamath plum, Oregon plum, Pacific plum and Sierra plum, is a member of the genus Prunus, native to the western United States, especially California and Oregon.

<i>Salix lasiolepis</i> Species of willow

Salix lasiolepis is a species of willow native to western North America.

<i>Lonicera hispidula</i> Species of plant

The perennial vine Lonicera hispidula is a species of honeysuckle known as pink honeysuckle and, less often, California honeysuckle. It is a low-elevation woodlands shrub or vine domestically grown, specifically found on the West Coast of North America.

<i>Lonicera interrupta</i> Species of honeysuckle

Lonicera interrupta, commonly known as chaparral honeysuckle, is a species of plant found in the western United States.

<i>Rubus ursinus</i> Berry and plant

Rubus ursinus is a North American species of blackberry or dewberry, known by the common names California blackberry, California dewberry, Douglas berry, Pacific blackberry, Pacific dewberry and trailing blackberry.

<i>Lonicera sempervirens</i> Species of honeysuckle

Lonicera sempervirens is a flowering plant species of honeysuckle vine native to the eastern United States which is known for its reddish flowers.

<i>Sambucus racemosa</i> Species of plant

Sambucus racemosa is a species of elderberry known by the common names red elderberry and red-berried elder.

<i>Ribes aureum</i> Species of plant

Ribes aureum, known by the common names golden currant, clove currant, pruterberry and buffalo currant, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Ribes native to North America.

<i>Ribes lobbii</i> Species of shrub

Ribes lobbii is a shrubby, perennial dicot found on the western coast of North America.

<i>Ribes divaricatum</i> Species of currant

Ribes divaricatum is a species in the genus Ribes found in the forests, woodlands, and coastal scrub of western North America from British Columbia to California. The three accepted varieties have various common names which include the word "gooseberry". Other common names include coast black gooseberry, wild gooseberry, Worcesterberry, or spreading-branched gooseberry.

<i>Lonicera subspicata</i> Species of honeysuckle

Lonicera subspicata is a species of honeysuckle known by the common name southern honeysuckle. It is native to Baja California, California, and northern Baja California Sur, where it is known from several areas in mountain and coastal habitat, particularly chaparral. It is a vining shrub which usually climbs on other plants for support.

<i>Lonicera tatarica</i> Species of honeysuckle

Lonicera tatarica is a species of honeysuckle known by the common name Tatarian honeysuckle. Native to Eurasia, the plant is one of several exotic bush honeysuckles present in North America, being considered an invasive species there.

<i>Ribes californicum</i> Species of flowering plant

Ribes californicum, with the common name hillside gooseberry, is a North American species of currant. It is endemic to California.

<i>Ribes hudsonianum</i> Species of fruit and plant

Ribes hudsonianum is a North American species of currant, known by the common name northern black currant.

<i>Rubus lasiococcus</i> Species of flowering plant

Rubus lasiococcus is a North American species of wild blackberry known by the common names roughfruit berry and dwarf bramble.

<i>Lonicera utahensis</i> Species of honeysuckle

Lonicera utahensis is a species of flowering plant in the honeysuckle family known by the common names Utah honeysuckle, red twinberry, and fly honeysuckle. It is native to western North America.

References

  1. 1 2 NatureServe (2024). "Lonicera involucrata". Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  2. "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species" . Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  3. BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Turner, Mark; Kuhlmann, Ellen (2014). Trees & Shrubs of the Pacific Northwest (1st ed.). Portland, OR: Timber Press. p. 308. ISBN   978-1-60469-263-1.
  5. 1 2 Plants of British Columbia: Lonicera involucrata
  6. 1 2 3 Jepson Flora: Lonicera involucrata
  7. BorealForest: Lonicera involucrata
  8. Reiner, Ralph E. (1969). Introducing the Flowering Beauty of Glacier National Park and the Majestic High Rockies. Glacier Park, Inc. p. 58.
  9. Jepson Flora: Lonicera involucrata var. involucrata
  10. Jepson Flora: Lonicera involucrata var. ledebourii
  11. "Lonicera involucrata". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  12. 1 2 3 "Black Twinberry - The North Creek Wetland - UW Bothell". www.uwb.edu. Retrieved 2021-05-06.
  13. 1 2 3 "Lonicera involucrata - black twinberry, bearberry honeysuckle". web.pdx.edu. Retrieved 2021-05-06.
  14. Whitney, Stephen (1985). Western Forests (The Audubon Society Nature Guides). New York: Knopf. p.  427. ISBN   0-394-73127-1.
  15. Darris, D. (2011). "Plant fact sheet for twinberry honeysuckle (Lonicera involucrata)" (PDF). USDA. Retrieved 2025-01-27.
  16. Schofield, Wilfred B.; Pojar, Jim; MacKinnon, Andy (1999). "Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast". The Bryologist. 102 (4): 775. doi:10.2307/3244266. ISSN   0007-2745. JSTOR   3244266.
  17. Blanchan, N. (2005). Wild Flowers Worth Knowing. Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.