Lonicera interrupta

Jepson 1993, Kearney and Peebles 1969

Duration: Perennial Nativity: Native Lifeform: Vine General: Small vine or shrub to 0.5 m, with a woody trunk and stems, branches erect or sprawling, glabrous or pubescent. Leaves: Opposite, ovate to elliptic, margins entire, to 2.5 cm long, leaves fused below the inflorescence, glabrous above. Flowers: Cream to yellow, borne in a long, interrupted spike, bilabiate and generally 5 lobed, deeply divided with a strong lip, upper lip strongly reflexed or erect, if reflexed, often curving back to touch corolla tube, the lower lip variable in length, stamens exserted, anthers bright yellow. The calyx tube is fused to the ovary, and the green bracts are half as long as the ovary or more. Fruits: Fleshy, red berry, to 10 mm diameter. Ecology: Found in gravelly soils and near streams in chaparral, dry slopes, ridges, and open forest, from 4,000-6,000 ft (1219-1829 m); flowering May-June. Notes: The flowers in this species are showy and bright, although sometimes variable in shape, when reflexed the petals are quite interesting, and the strong lip is a good indicator for this species, along with the bracts that are half as long as the ovary or more. Ethnobotany: A poultice of the root was applied to swellings, an infusion of the leaves was used as an eyewash and to soothe sores, the nectar was sucked out of the flowers for a sweet treat, and the stems were used to make baskets and pipes. Etymology: Lonicera is named for Adam Lonitzer (1528-1586), a German herbalist, physician and botanist who wrote a standard herbal text that was reprinted many times between 1557 and 1783, while interrupta means interrupted in some fashion. Synonyms: None  Editor: LCrumbacher, 2011