Terrestrial invasive species

Nature

Most of these invasive plant factsheets are created from the booklet Minnesota invasive non-native terrestrial plants, an identification guide for resource managers.

Check the additional resources and herbicides table for more information.

Exotic honeysuckles (Lonicera tartarica, L. morrowii, L. x bella)


 

Description:

Appearance:Upright deciduous shrubs, 5 -12' high. Lonicera x bella is a horticultural hybrid. Older stems have shaggy bark and are often hollow.

Leaves: Opposite, simple, oval, and untoothed. L. tartarica has smooth, hairless leaves, L. morrowii has downy leaves.

Flowers: Fragrant, tubular, bloom in May and June, white, red, but most often pink.

Fruit: Fruits are red or yellow, situated in pairs in the leaf axils.

Roots: Roots are fibrous and shallow.

Ecological Threat:

  • Exotic honeysuckle replace native forest shrubs and herbaceous plants by their invasive nature and early leaf-out. They shade out herbaceous ground cover and deplete soil moisture.
  • Seeds are readily dispersed by birds.
  • Some research suggests that the plant inhibits the growth of other plants in its vicinity.
  • Introduced to North America as ornamental shrubs and beneficial to wildlife. Commercial propagation continues with many cultivars available from nurseries.

 

Control Methods:

Mechanical
Pulling seedlings in small infestations when soil is moist

Prescribed burning will kill seedlings and top kill mature shrubs, repeated burns may be needed to control infestations

Chemical
Cut-stump treatment with glyphosate; cut-stump or basal bark spray treatment around the stem with triclopyr

Foliage spraying with glyphosate solution, where burning is not possible, prior to leaf out of native species

 

Native Substitutes:

Additional Resources