Tartarian honeysuckle
General poisoning notes:
Tartarian
honeysuckle (Lonicera tatarica) is an ornamental shrub that has become
naturalized throughout much of southern Canada. In European literature this
plant have been implicated in the poisoning of children. See additional notes
under fly honeysuckle, (Lonicera xylosteum).
Description:
Shrubs, deciduous,
to 3 m tall, ± pruinose. Winter buds small, with ca. 4 pairs of ovate scales.
Branches with pith becoming brown and later hollow. Petiole 2-5 mm; leaf blade
ovate or ovate-oblong, sometimes oblong, 2-5 × 1-2 cm, both surfaces glabrous or
sparsely pubescent, sometimes prominently pubescent, base rounded or slightly
cordate, margin ciliate, apex acute or obtuse. Inflorescences axillary paired
flowers; peduncle 1-2 cm; bracts linear to obovate-lanceolate, 2-7 mm;
bracteoles free in 2 pairs, orbicular-ovate, to 1 mm, sometimes as long as
ovaries and ciliate. Neighboring 2 ovaries free. Calyx lobes
triangular-lanceolate, to 1 mm. Corolla bilabiate, pale pink to carmine-red,
sometimes white or pink fading to yellow, ca. 1.5 cm; tube 5-6 mm, shallowly
gibbous at base; upper lip 4 lobed, 2 lateral lobes lobed to base and
spreading, middle lobes shallowly lobed; lower lip recurved. Stamens and style
exserted from corolla tube. Style pubescent throughout. Berries red or yellow,
globose, 5-6 mm in diam.; seeds 2-2.3 mm, smooth with concave dots. Fl.
May-Jun, fr. Jun-Sep.
Nomenclature:
Scientific Name: Lonicera tatarica L.
Vernacular
name(s): Tartarian honeysuckle
Scientific family
name: Caprifoliaceae
Vernacular family
name: honeysuckle
Geographic Information
Forest margins,
scrub; 700-1600 m. ?Hebei, Heilongjiang, Liaoning, N Xinjiang [Japan, Korea,
Kyrgyzstan, ?Mongolia, Russia].
Canada: Alberta, Manitoba,
New Brunswick, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan.
Notes on Poisonous plant parts:
Ingesting the
berries has caused mild toxicity in children (Frohne and Pfander 1983).
Toxic parts:
Mature fruit.
Notes on Toxic plant chemicals:
The toxic
compounds are unknown, but they are suspected to be saponins (Frohne and
Pfander 1983).
Toxic plant chemicals:
Unknown chemical.
Animals/Human Poisoning:
Note: When an
animal is listed without additional information, the literature (as of 1993)
contained no detailed explanation.
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