Lonicera sempervirens (trumpet honeysuckle)

Lonicera sempervirens is native to eastern and southern parts of the United States, from Maine to Florida and Texas; it has been introduced to eastern Canada and elsewhere.

‘Lonicera sempervirens, the Great Trumpet Honeysuckle [sic]’, by Sydenham Edwards, from Curtis’s Botanical Magazine (1804).

 The material for this hand-coloured engraving was supplied by Fraser’s American Nursery, Sloane Square.

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Lonicera sempervirens is listed as Endangered in Maine (by the United States Department of Agriculture), but is common elsewhere in open woodlands, at the edges of thickets, and sometimes along roadsides, in eastern USA.

The chewed leaves of trumpet honeysuckle were traditionally used by Native Americans for treating bee stings. The fruits are reported to have been used as an emetic.

Trumpet honeysuckle is cultivated as an ornamental. In southern USA it is a good plant for attracting hummingbirds. In Great Britain, it has received an Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society.

Lonicera sempervirens should be planted in well-drained, moist soil in sun or semi-shade. It needs some kind of support, such as a trellis, around which to twine. L. sempervirens is quite hardy. It can be susceptible to powdery mildew in stagnant air. Propagation can be carried out using cuttings, layering or seed.

Trumpet honeysuckle can be seen growing in the Queen’s Garden (behind Kew Palace) at Kew.

Pressed and dried specimens of Lonicera sempervirens are held in Kew’s Herbarium, where they are available to researchers by appointment. The details of specimens of many other species of Lonicera, can be seen on-line in the Herbarium Catalogue.

Search Kew's databases for more information on this species

Curtis’s Botanical Magazine (Wiley-Blackwell)

William Aiton and William Townsend Aiton

The Ashmolean – The Tradescant Collection

Royal Horticultural Society – Lonicera sempervirens