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| Japanese Honeysuckle |
Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) is a vine with fragrant two-lipped flowers and some very bad habits. In addition to its aggressive spread, it shades out its competitors by getting an early start in the spring and holding its leaves throughout the year. It twists tightly around vertical branches of trees and bushes, digging in tightly to create deep grooves in the bark, killing the plant by cutting off the flow of vital fluids. Given time, it produces a dense blanket, stifling growth of native shrubs and trees.
Brought to North America in 1806 for its fragrance, flowers, and erosion control, it is now found in 26 states in the eastern half of the US. Its only geographic limits are the severe winters to the north and dryness and drought of the west.
It has no significant competitors or predators in the US. The good news is that birds eat the seeds. The bad news is this allows for its distant spread by their defecating the seeds. It expands vigorously, sending out underground stems (rhizomes) to spread from the parent plant in insidious mats. Runners along the surface of the ground, can develop roots and new plants where the stem and leaf junctions come in contact with moist ground (stolon).
Missouri Plants has good pictures to help with identification. As the leaves remain green all winter unlike most other vines it's easy to spot at a distance. The bark is distinctive, thin and somewhat loose and can be peeled away to show smooth tan to pale green wood underneath. Another characteristic is the tight choking vines which can cause deep grooves in the wood of its victims. Its only other good trait is that the peeled smooth vine wood has interesting twisting patterns and can be used for crafts.
Winter is the best time to identify and cut it down. Be sure to treat the cut stems with 20% glyphosate or other stump treatment to kill the plant. The Missouri Department of Conservation has good concise information on control measures.
A good source of information is in the PDF file from IPSAWG.
Encyclopedic information on control measures can be found at this site.
