Lonicera.
The Lonicera genus is in my Caprifoliaceae s.s family.
The 158 species of Honeysuckles are native to Eurasia and North Africa and North America.
Australia has 4 naturalised species.
Often cultivated as ornamentals some have become weeds.
Most are deciduous or evergreen vines and there are a few shrubs.
Stems can be prostrate, arching or twine up any support.
Stems may have simple and glandular hairs.
Leaves are mostly opposite but a few species have them in whorls.
A few species have a stipule at the petiole base.
There is often a ridge between the petiole bases.
Blades are ovate, elliptic or lance-shaped with a smooth, toothed or lobed edge.
There may be hairs mainly on young leaves.
Typical inflorescences are a single flower that is terminal on a short axillary side branch.
With the opposite leaves flowers are in pairs along the branch ends.
There may also be 2 or 3 flowers up to a small head with or without a peduncle or pedicels.
Peduncles may have leaf-like bracts and pedicels small bracteoles.
The frequently fragrant flowers can be symmetric or asymmetric.
The calyx, smooth or with hairs has a basal tube with 5 (4) lobes.
The funnel or bell-shaped corolla has a short or long corolla tube.
The tube may have a pouch or rarely a spur.
There may be 5 equal lobes but usually the lobes are in 2 lips with 4 lobes in the upper lip and 1 in the lower.
Corollas are often cream or white with a wide range of colours (except blue) on the outer surface.
Flowers often change colour as they age.
The corolla may have simple and/or glandular hairs.
The 5 stamens, of different lengths insert onto the corolla tube.
Dorsifixed anthers open inwards through longitudinal slits.
The nectary is in the corolla tube towards the base.
It is usually a collection of hairs with a glandular base on the upper wall.
Occasionally it is up to 5 lines or a swollen ring around the style base.
At each stem node ovaries of the paired flowers may be separate or fused.
The inferior ovary has 2 or 3 (5) locules each with 3 to 8 pendulous ovules.
The thin style may be smooth or hairy and the stigma may be faintly lobed.
The fruit are a black, white, green, blue or red berry with a few seeds.
They may be single or paired usually with the calyx still attached.
J.F.
