Lonicera tatarica

Native to eastern Europe and Asia. Introduced and naturalized into the United States and Canada.

Deciduous woodland borders, thickets, fence rows, disturbed areas. Full sun to partial shade.

May to June

Pinkish white

3′ to 10′

This is an erect, 3′ to 10′ tall, perennial shrub that rises from shallow roots. It sometimes forms dense thickets.

The branches are straight and hollow. They are light green and covered with soft, fine, short hairs when young. Older branches have shaggy, grayish-brown bark.

The leaves are opposite, untoothed, egg-shaped to oblong, widest below the middle, and 1⅛″ to 2⅓″ long. They are bluish-green on the upper surface.

The flowers occur in pairs arising from leaf axils. They are pinkish white and do not turn yellow with age.

The fruit is a reddish-orange berry.

All native honeysuckles are vine-like, not shrubs, and have twining branches.

Morrow’s honeysuckle (Lonicera morrowii), another non-native species, has white flowers that turn yellow with age. Its leaves are downy.