Wildflower Website                           

                         Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria)                                                                                                                                                                    Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica)

Hi!, I’m Samantha, Hi, I’m Sophia, and Hi, I’m Jackie

Together:          And we’re the Wildflowers! 

Samantha:  We created this website in order to promote the awareness and identification of a silent, but "vicious thief" in our community, and to provide our community with the knowledge of how to get rid of this thief.

Sophia:  No, this thief is not a person, but it is a plant and it is called “Japanese Bush Honeysuckle”!

Jackie:  In fact, Japanese Bush Honeysuckle, scientifically known as Lonicera maackii and Lonicera morrowii is an invasive plant that can rob a community of its beautiful hardwood forests, native wildflowers, other native plants, and beautiful song birds.

Samantha:  Japanese Bush Honeysuckle can also attract mice, which in turn attract ticks that can spread harmful diseases to humans.

Sophia:  We also want to educate everyone about ways to eliminate this thief from our community.  We sincerely hope that after reading this website, we have motivated you to join us in a community-wide effort to catch this thief and prevent it from further theft.

Together:  Please help us by reading this site and joining us in our mission  

The Thief: Japanese Bush Honeysuckle

Not all that is green is good for the environment 

What is invasive honeysuckle?

Japanese invasive bush honeysuckle, also known as Lonicera maackii and Lonicera morrowii, is a bush that normally lives on the edge of the forest and is one of the first plants to turn green in early spring and one of the last plants to loose its leaves in the fall.  Pictured above, it is easily identified at these times, since it stands out against the other leafless forest plants.  In fact, that is how we, the wildflowers, stumbled upon it.  Samantha and her family noticed thick rows of green plants growing along the edge of her neighborhood’s forest line early last spring.  An investigation of these plants led to the discovery of a thief in our community, the Japanese bush honeysuckle.  This Asian bush grows to be six to twenty feet high and nearly as wide. In the early summer the bush has yellow and white flowers that have a sweet aroma. Red berries are found on the plant during the fall. It sounds and looks like such a lovely plant.  In fact, because it is attractive and grows so thick and so fast, it was promoted by landscapers in the 1940s and 50s as good plants to provide natural privacy fences or to make gardens and yards more pleasant.  So, millions of people planted these plants without knowing how destructive they can be to our environment.  It’s important to know that not all green plants are good for the environment.  In fact, many plants that are not “native” or do not naturally grow in our area can disrupt our ecosystem and reduce the natural habitats that are available for human and wildlife use.   Now, years later, the Japanese bush honeysuckle is known to be an invasive, exotic plant that has replaced many native species throughout much of St. Louis and Illinois. Invasive plants are destructive to the ecosystem since they invade and overtake an area without any competition to keep them in check.  In many of our local communities, bush honeysuckle now completely dominates our forest’s native species and animals.  Many local groups like the Missouri Botanical Gardens, the Ladue Garden club and the Southwestern Illinois Resource, Conservation and Development  Corporation (RC&D, Inc.) are working hard to educate the community about the bush honeysuckle and to eliminate it from our communities.  It is important to note that not all exotic plants are harmful or invasive, and that some native plants can also become invasive like the Eastern Red Cedar or Juniperus virginans.  For example Cornus mas, commonly known as Corneliancherry dogwood is a plant that originated in Europe and Asia, and it has adapted well to our area and is a good alternative to the bush honeysuckle.

What is its history and economic impact?

The Japanese bush honeysuckle was introduced into New York from East Asia in 1806 as decorative plant. At the time, bush honeysuckle was promoted by state and federal agencies to improve wildlife habitats, as a popular ornamental plant, and to prevent soil erosion.  It was first reported to have “escaped” from cultivation in 1898.  After that, it quickly spread throughout the eastern U.S. Today, its invasion is widespread, and it can be found throughout Tennessee, the Northeast, the Midwest, and parts of the South.  It is frequently found growing along roads, railroads, fences, the edges of woods and farm fields.  Historically, it has been observed to rapidly grown in areas where the soil has been disturbed like those mentioned above.  It should not be confused with native honeysuckle which grows on a vine, is not invasive, and is beneficial to the environment.  The economic effect of invasive species on the U.S. soil has been estimated to be around $123 billion dollars.  After habitat destruction, invasive species are considered the biggest threat to biodiversity.  That is, they are eliminating the many diverse native species in our environment and are becoming dominant.  Another invasive Japanese plant, Kudzou (Pueraria lobata), was introduced to the United States at the U.S. Centennial in 1876 in Philadelphia.  It was on display in a Japanese garden, and then donated to the United States as a gift.  Kudzou became very popular and was planted throughout the South.  See picture below:

                                                                                                                                                       Kudzou

How does invasive honeysuckle affect the environment?

Our environment can be greatly affected by invasive honeysuckle. It is extremely powerful and can overtake and kill many species of native plants, including trees. This honeysuckle can grow so tall that it can block the sunlight needed for native wildflowers, tree seedlings, and other native plants to grow.  The shallow root systems of the bush honeysuckle also steal much of the available water.  Its vines can also twist tightly around the trunks and stems of plants and trees, cutting off their water circulation. Some species of the bush carry chemicals that are toxic to other plants, killing them. Many native song birds are attracted to the honeysuckle’s berries, which aren’t as nutritious as the berries of native plants.   The berries of these plants are carbohydrate-rich and do not provide migrating birds with the high-fat content needed for long flights. It has also been noted by Ohio State researchers that songbirds nesting in honeysuckle experience higher rates of nest attacks or “predation” than birds nesting in native plants.  In areas dominated by bush honeysuckle, song birds may eventually leave and never return!  Unfortunately, after eating these berries, the birds spread the seeds of the honeysuckle bushes, increasing the honeysuckle bush population. Also, the dense cover of the bush attracts mice, and these mice then attract larval ticks that feed off the mice and carry harmful diseases to humans, like Lyme’s disease.   The cycle of tick disease is complicated and also includes deer, which are the adult tick’s preferred source of nutrition. However mice, especially the white-footed mice, carry the disease and their populations increase in forest areas that are dense with bush honeysuckle.   In fact, researchers from the Maine Medical Research Center found that the number of ticks double in an ecosystem where invasive shrubs like the Japanese bush honeysuckle exists!  In forest areas where Japanese bush honeysuckle dominates, many native wildflowers have disappeared.  The honeysuckle either shades them out or strangles them out.  We observed that in areas in our community where the bush honeysuckle was the heaviest, there were less wildflowers.  Besides adding color and beauty, wildflowers play an important role in the environment. They provide an important nutritious source of food for many insects like butterflies and bees, and for songbirds, and for many other animals like wild turkey, quail, foxes and deer.  Wildflowers have also been valued for use in food, oils, fragrances, lotions and cures. In southern Illinois, there are many beautiful wildflowers.  The two pictured at the top of our website are examples that we found in our neighborhood woods.  We photographed them for your enjoyment.  Hopefully, you can begin to understand how an invasive plant can disturb the nature’s delicate balance.

How can you kill invasive honeysuckle?

There are three basic ways to kill invasive honeysuckle, mechanical, chemical, and through burning.

Mechanical control includes hand-pulling, cutting or mowing the honeysuckle.  When the plants are young, it is easy to pull them out, root and all.  This effectively removes them.  Cutting or mowing can contain them, but they will grow back.  Interestingly, goats have been used in our community to help contain the plants.  Goats readily eat the bushes down to the ground.  They have been used in Forest Park in St. Louis to help contain the plants.         

Chemical control has been the most effective method of killing the bush honeysuckle when it is used in combination with cutting.  If the large stems are cut, and then an herbicide is applied, the plant is effectively killed.  A herbicide is a chemical that kills plants.  Glyphosate, the herbicide found in Roundup, is a non-selective herbicide and has been used in many studies to kill bush honeysuckle.  It should be used with caution and with care to avoid killing surrounding native plants.  The standard used is 20% glyphosate applied to cut stems with a brush.  Late summer or early fall application produces the best results.  All safety and label precautions should be followed when applying chemicals.  The herbicide Garlon has been found not to be effective in studies comparing it to Glyphosate.

Burning has been used as a method to contain bush honeysuckle.  Obviously, controlled and safe burning should be done in areas where fires are allowed by law.  Spring burning will kill seedlings and kill the tops of mature plants. Bush honeysuckles readily resprout and repeated fires are necessary for adequate control. It may be necessary to burn annually or biennially for five years or more for effective control

Other Invasive Plants

            There are other invasive plants.  However, from our observances, we have found the Japanese bush honeysuckle seems to be the most widespread in our area, and is increasing at an alarming rate.  Kudzou, as mentioned above, is very widespread in the South, but can also be found in Illinois.  It is known as the “vine that ate the South”, and is pictured above.  It has been a horrible invader in the South.  Garlic mustard, burning bush (Euonymus alata), Japanese hops (Humulus japonicus), crown vetch, (Securigera varia) nodding thistle (Carduus nutans)and cut-leaved teasel (Dipsacus laciniatus)are some of the other invaders in southwestern Illinois.  As mentioned above, some native plants can become invasive, like the Eastern Red Cedar, which used to be kept in check by naturally occurring wildfires.  Now that those fires are no longer the norm, Eastern Red Cedar is considered invasive in many areas of the state.

Native plants

By definition, native plants are plants that have grown in our area for thousands of years.  It is important to know that when you remove invasive plants like the bush honeysuckle, you should replace them with native plants.  Some non-native plants that are well adapted to this area and that are non-invasive can also be used.  If the bush honeysuckle are not replaced, other invasive plants often take their place.  A common invasive plant that sprouts up in place of bush honeysuckle is garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata).  Some native plants recommended as replacement plants are Ozark witch hazel (Hamamelis vernalis), possum haw (Ilex decidua), ninebark,( Physocarpus opulifolius) serviceberry ( Amelanchier arbora)and cornelian cherry dogwood (Cornus mas).  The Missouri Department of Conservation, Missouri Botanical Garden , Southwestern Illinois Resource Conservation and Development, and other sources listed below have websites and brochures with recommended replacement plants for the bush honeysuckle. Serviceberry is pictured below. 

                                                                                                                                                  Serviceberry

Another native plant that is often confused with poison ivy is the five-leafed Virginia creeper that turns deep red in the fall.  See picture below:

                                                                                                                           Virginia Creeper(Parhenocissus quinaquefolia)

Agencies in our area to contact for more information

There are many master gardeners, conservationists and agencies that are working hard to eliminate invasive species in our area and to educate the public.  We were fortunate to be able to visit with a few of them.  They      are especially interested in eliminating the Japanese bush honeysuckle from our area.  They are listed:

Southwestern Illinois Resource Conservation & Development, Inc.- www.swircd.org

Missouri Department of Conservation- www.mdc.mo.gov/nathis/exotic/

Missouri Botanical Garden- www.mobot.org/invaders

Midwest Invasive Plant Network- www.MIPN.org

Missouri Department of Agricultre- www.mda.mo.gov

Grow Native!- www.grownative.org

Ladue Garden Club, St. Louis Mo. - www.mobot.org

Thanks for reading our website, and we invite you to take our quiz.  Again, we hope that you will join us in our efforts to educate others about the invasive Japanese bush honeysuckle and to try to eliminate it in our area.

Help us now because,

Japanese honeysuckle, if left unchecked, will limit many uses of our land

Japanese honeysuckle can harm our wetlands, prairies, and forest

Japanese honeysuckle can decrease our ability to enjoy hunting, bird watching, and enjoyment of wildflowers

The longer we wait, the more costly it will be to control this plant

Review

Not all green plants are good for the environment or provide great habitats for animals.

Invasive plants attack all other plants, not just weeds.

Native plants are not plants that were planted by Native American Indians, but plants that have been in our communities for thousands of years, and grow naturally here.  Most are not invasive.

Honeysuckle that grows on a vine is a native species that is good for the environment.

Kudzou, not honeysuckle, was presented as a gift to the US in 1876.

Plants can kill trees.

Not all plants that produce berries, flower or smell good are good for the environment.

Wildflowers play an important role in the environment.

Herbicides kill plants.

Goats have been used to try to contain Japanese honeysuckle and thus have been used to help solve environmental problems.

Japanese honeysuckle has been used in the past to prevent soil erosion.

No conservationist or environmentalist wants people to plant non-native species from other countries like Japan.

Kudzou is known as the vine that ate the South, because of its massive destruction.