Lonicera nitida

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Lonicera nitida
Lonicera nitida aurea after pruning.JPG
L. nitida ‘Baggesen’s Gold’
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. nitida
Binomial name
Lonicera nitida
E.H.Wilson

Lonicera nitida is a species of flowering plant in the honeysuckle family. In English, it is sometimes given the common names box honeysuckle or Wilson's honeysuckle. [1] It is widely used as a low hedging plant, and for topiary. It is also a popular low-maintenance ground cover plant for urban landscaping.

Contents

The species is native to China, in the area of Yunnan and West Sichuan, where It grows in scrub form along streams at 1,200–3,000 m (3,900–9,800 ft).

Description

L. nitida is a broadleaf evergreen shrub 4–5 ft (1.2–1.5 m) tall [2] and 4–6 ft (1.2–1.8 m) wide if unclipped, with dark green, small leaves (6–16 millimeters long). The creamy white, fragrant flowers, appearing at the end of spring, [3] are 6 millimeters long, and grow in pairs. The fruit (rarely formed on clipped specimens) is an inedible bluish-purple berry [4] about 6 millimeters in diameter. The stems are layered one on top of the other giving the appearance of a haystack. [5] The growth rate is moderate [6] or fast growing. [7] While resistant to deer and rabbits, [8] it is attractive to birds. When planted, the species is easy to clip and needs frequent clipping because it flops if it grows to a height over 5 feet. [9] The species is commonly confused with Cotoneaster species. The difference between the two is that Cotoneaster has alternate leaves while this species has opposite leaves. [10]

The Latin specific epithet nitida means “shining’, in reference to its glossy leaves. [11]

Cultivars include 'Maigrün', 'Baggesen's Gold' and 'Briloni' (a.k.a. 'Edmee Gold') [12]

Cultivation

When planted, the species should be put in the full sun to light shade in fertile, well-drained soil. [7] The species is more shade resistant than most honeysuckles. [7] The species can tolerate drought [3] and pollution. [4]

Lonicera nitida takes clipping well and makes a small hedge. [13] The cultivar ‘Baggesen’s Gold’ has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit. [14] [15]

At Osborne House, a holiday home built in 1845 on the Isle of Wight for Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert, there are L. nitida shrubs clipped in the form of stags rising from beds of Felicia amelloides , Festuca glauca , and Pelargonium inquinans . [16]

This plant is often used for bonsai. Because it is an energetic grower, it is possible to collect old and quite sizable L. nitida from the landscape or growing wild, cut most of the roots and branches off to start from scratch to build a new tree-like form.

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, native to northern latitudes in North America and Eurasia. Approximately 180 species of honeysuckle have been identified in both continents. 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, Australia, and Africa.

<i>Lonicera japonica</i> Flowering shrub known as Japanese honeysuckle

Lonicera japonica, known as Japanese honeysuckle and golden-and-silver honeysuckle, is a species of honeysuckle native to eastern Asia, including many parts of China. It is often grown as an ornamental plant, but has become an invasive species in a number of countries. Japanese honeysuckle is used in traditional Chinese medicine.

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

Lonicera etrusca is a species of honeysuckle known by the common name Etruscan honeysuckle. It is native to Southern Europe, Western Asia and North Africa and it is known elsewhere, including the Pacific Northwest of North America, as an introduced species where it has escaped cultivation. It is kept in gardens as an ornamental plant.

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

Lonicera periclymenum, common names honeysuckle, common honeysuckle, European honeysuckle, or woodbine, is a species of flowering plant in the family Caprifoliaceae native to much of Europe, North Africa, Turkey and the Caucasus. It is found as far north as southern Norway, Sweden and Finland.

<i>Juniperus chinensis</i> Species of conifer

Juniperus chinensis, the Chinese juniper is a species of plant in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to China, Myanmar, Japan, Korea and the Russian Far East. Growing 1–20 metres tall, it is a very variable coniferous evergreen tree or shrub.

<i>Linnaea <span style="font-style:normal;">×</span> grandiflora</i> Hybrid species of flowering plant in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae

Linnaea × grandiflora, synonym Abelia × grandiflora, is a hybrid species of flowering plant in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae, raised by hybridising L. chinensis with L. uniflora.

<i>Yucca filamentosa</i> Species of flowering plant

Yucca filamentosa, Adam's needle and thread, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae native to the southeastern United States. Growing to 3 metres tall, it is an evergreen shrub valued in horticulture.

<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>Lonicera maackii</i> Species of plant in the family Caprifoliaceae native to western Asia

Lonicera maackii, the Amur honeysuckle, is a species of honeysuckle in the family Caprifoliaceae that is native to temperate eastern Asia; specifically in northern and western China south to Yunnan, Mongolia, Primorsky Krai in southeastern Siberia, Korea, and, albeit rare there, central and northern Honshū, Japan.

<i>Cotoneaster salicifolius</i> Species of flowering plant

Cotoneaster salicifolius, the willow-leaved cotoneaster, is a drought-tolerant, evergreen to semi-evergreen, low-lying, small to medium-sized shrub with an arched branching habit. Specimens growing in the wild, however, are generally larger, averaging five meters in height. Although native to the mountains, mixed forests, and open places in western China, it is commonly cultivated in temperate climates worldwide. Cultivars have been bred in a variety of forms, as ornamental groundcovers or shrubs.

<i>Forsythia <span style="font-style:normal;">×</span> intermedia</i> Hybrid flowering plant in the olive family Oleaceae

Forsythia × intermedia, or border forsythia, is an ornamental deciduous shrub of garden origin.

<i>Acer palmatum</i> Species of maple

Acer palmatum, commonly known as Japanese maple, palmate maple, or smooth Japanese maple (Japanese: irohamomiji, イロハモミジ, or momiji,, is a species of woody plant native to Japan, Korea, China, eastern Mongolia, and southeast Russia. Many different cultivars of this maple have been selected and they are grown worldwide for their large variety of attractive forms, leaf shapes, and spectacular colors.

<i>Cotoneaster dammeri</i> Species of flowering plant

Cotoneaster dammeri, the bearberry cotoneaster, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Cotoneaster, belonging to the family Rosaceae, native to central and southern China and naturalized in Europe.

<i>Cotoneaster atropurpureus</i> Species of flowering plant

Cotoneaster atropurpureus, the purple-flowered cotoneaster, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Cotoneaster of the family Rosaceae, native to the Hubei province of China. It is a prostrate, deciduous shrub growing to 2.5 metres wide. It can be used as groundcover or trained to ascend up a wall or other support. Its fan-shaped, arching branches bear small, rounded, glossy green leaves turning purple in autumn. Red/black flowers are followed by small, globose, scarlet fruits (pomes).

<i>Thymus pulegioides</i> Species of flowering plant

Thymus pulegioides, common names broad-leaved thyme or lemon thyme, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native to Europe. Growing to 5–25 cm (2–10 in) tall by 25 cm (10 in) wide, it is a small spreading subshrub with strongly aromatic leaves, and lilac pink flowers in early summer. The specific epithet pulegioides highlights its similarity to another species within Lamiaceae, Mentha pulegium (pennyroyal).

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

Lonicera ligustrina is a species of honeysuckle found in Bhutan, India, Nepal, and China. It grows as an evergreen, semi-evergreen, or deciduous shrub approximately 1.5-2.5 meters in height, with leathery or paper-like leaves 0.4-8 × 0.2-1.5 cm in size.

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

Lonicera similis is a species of flowering plant in the family Caprifoliaceae, native to Western China. This honeysuckle is known in cultivation by the variety delavayi which is reported by some authorities to be synonymous with L. similis itself. It is a large, twining, semi-evergreen shrub growing to 8 m (26 ft) tall by 1.5 m (4.9 ft) broad, with a profusion of fragrant tubular flowers opening white and ageing to yellow, in late summer and autumn. The flowers are followed by black berries. The Latin specific epithet similis means “similar to”. It is similar in appearance to L. japonica, but larger and more robust. The name delavayi honours the French missionary and botanist Père Jean Marie Delavay (1834-1895).

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

Lonicera tragophylla, the Chinese honeysuckle, is a species of flowering plant in the family Caprifoliaceae, native to Central China, where it inhabits forest, scrub and rocky crevices. Growing to 6 m (20 ft) tall by 1.5 m (4.9 ft) wide, it is a deciduous climbing shrub with grey-green leaves and trumpet-shaped, pure rich yellow flowers in late summer and autumn. Unlike many of its relatives in the honeysuckle genus Lonicera, it is unscented.

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

Lonicera hildebrandiana, the giant Burmese honeysuckle, is a species of flowering plant in the family Caprifoliaceae, native to southeast Asia, in China, Thailand and Burma. Growing to at least 10 m (33 ft) tall and 8 m (26 ft) broad, with flowers and leaves up to 15 cm (5.9 in) long, this climbing, twining shrub is by far the largest of all the honeysuckles. The evergreen leaves are glossy, and the long thin tubular flowers open cream, turning to yellow and orange. The flowers, which have a strong honeysuckle fragrance, appear in pairs intermittently from spring throughout summer, and are followed in autumn by green berries.

<i>Lonicera <span style="font-style:normal;">×</span> purpusii</i> Species of honeysuckle

Lonicera × purpusii, the Purpus honeysuckle, is a hybrid species of flowering plant in the family Caprifoliaceae. It originated as a cross of garden origin between two Chinese species, L. fragrantissima and L. standishii.

References

  1. "Lonicera nitida". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 2010-02-21.
  2. "Lonicera nitida". Oregon State University. Retrieved 2010-02-10.
  3. 1 2 Burghardt, James. "Lonicera nitida 'Lemon Beauty'". Learn 2 Grow. Retrieved 2010-02-10.
  4. 1 2 American Horticultural Society (2004). Great Plant Guide. DK Publishing, Inc. p. 355. ISBN   0-7566-0315-3.
  5. "Lonicera nitida 'Lemon Beauty' (Boxleaf Honeysuckle)". Pender Nursery. Archived from the original on 2011-01-02. Retrieved 2010-02-10.
  6. "Lonicera nitida". North Carolina State University. Retrieved 2010-02-10.
  7. 1 2 3 "Lonicera nitida". Bellevue Botanical Garden. Archived from the original on 2010-06-15. Retrieved 2010-02-10.
  8. "Lonicera nitida 'Lemon Beauty'". Heritage Perennials. Archived from the original on 2010-01-05. Retrieved 2010-02-10.
  9. Clive, Lane (2005). Plants for Small Spaces. David & Charles. p. 38. ISBN   978-1-55870-749-8.
  10. Dirr, Michael (2002). Dirr's trees and shrubs for warm climates: an illustrated encyclopedia. Timber Press. p. 205. ISBN   978-0-88192-525-8.
  11. Harrison, Lorraine (2012). RHS Latin for Gardeners. United Kingdom: Mitchell Beazley. ISBN   978-1845337315.
  12. "JC Raulston Arboretum". Archived from the original on 2015-06-24. Retrieved 2012-09-01.
  13. Lucas Phillips, C. E. (1952). The Small Garden. William Heinemann Ltd. p. facing 237.
  14. "RHS Plantfinder - Lonicera nitida 'Baggesen's Gold'" . Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  15. "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 61. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  16. Taylor, Patrick (2008-01-01). "Osborne House". The Oxford Companion to Gardening. Retrieved 2010-02-11.

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