How do you recognise Common honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum)?

Leaf

Salicyna, Wikimedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Common honeysuckle

Lonicera periclymenum L.

Also known as: Woodbine, European honeysuckle

Family: Caprifoliaceae

twining climber 2 to 5 m long

Hedges, woodland edges and understorey, climbing over bushes

Flowering: June – September

Full sun

Part shade

Very hardy, to -20°C

❓ How do you recognise this plant?

Powerful fragrance in the evening — one of the most scented flowers of our hedgerows. Fly honeysuckle bears its flowers in pairs in the leaf axils on a rather bushy shrub, whereas common honeysuckle has flowers grouped in terminal heads at the ends of climbing stems.

🍃 Leaves

Opposite, ovate, entire, slightly bluish beneath

🌸 Flowers

Long cream-yellow tubes tinged with pink, very fragrant in the evening

🍎 Fruits

Glossy red berries, generally in close pairs in the leaf axils.

🪵 Bark

Twining stems winding around supports

🗺️ Distribution

Europe, North Africa; very common in hedges and woodland edges throughout France.

🐝 Value for pollinators

Very fragrant flowers in the evening, adapted to long-tongued moths (hawk-moths), also visited by bumblebees.

✂️ Horticultural uses

Planted to clothe pergolas, trellises and fences thanks to its powerful fragrance.

⚠️ Possible toxicity

Red berries toxic if eaten, causing digestive upset (vomiting, diarrhoea).

⚠️ Look-alike species

Common honeysuckle

Lonicera periclymenum

Fly honeysuckle

Lonicera xylosteum

Fly honeysuckle bears its flowers in pairs in the leaf axils on a rather bushy shrub, whereas common honeysuckle has flowers grouped in terminal heads at the ends of climbing stems.

Common honeysuckle

Lonicera periclymenum

Japanese honeysuckle

Lonicera japonica

Common honeysuckle is deciduous, with flowers tinged red-purple from the moment they open, whereas Japanese honeysuckle keeps semi-evergreen foliage in winter and its white flowers turn yellow after flowering.

🌿 Other Caprifoliaceae to discover

Southern bush honeysuckle

Diervilla sessilifolia

ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.

🌱 This database is constantly evolving — species and information are added and corrected regularly. Spotted a mistake? Report it below.