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Lonicera canadensis

Common name:	Fly Honeysuckle	Family:	Caprifoliaceae
Author:	W.Bartram.	Botanical references:	43, 200, 235
Synonyms:	Lonicera ciliata (Muhl.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	N. America - Nova Scotia to Saskatchewan, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Minnesota.
Habitat:	Cool moist woods[43, 235].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Xylosteon ciliatum[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	American Fly Honeysuckle [P], American Fly Honeysucle [L], American Fly-honeysuckle [B],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	canadensis = northeastern America cana = grayed due to hairs
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Dipsacales. Honeysuckle family

Physical Characteristics

A decidious shrub growing to 1.5m. It is hardy to zone 3. It is in flower from April to May. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Sunny Edge.

Edible Uses

Fruit.

Fruit[2, 177]. It is possibly edible[105]. The fruit is about 6mm in diameter[235].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Diuretic Sedative VD.

The steeped branches are a very effective diuretic[207].
A decoction of the shoots is used in the treatment of chancres caused by syphilis[257].
The bark is sedative. An infusion has been given to children who cry all night[257].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Grows best in a good moist soil in a sunny position, it does not fruit so well in the shade[200].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. Stored seed requires 2 months cold stratification[113] and should be sown as soon as possible in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 7 - 10cm with or without a heel, July/August in a frame. Good percentage[78].
Cuttings of mature wood of the current season's growth, 15 - 20cm with or without a heel, November in a cold frame. Good percentage[78].
Layering in autumn[200].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for the family Caprifoliaceae.

To be included in the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[78] Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[113] Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press 1987 ISBN 0942375009
A very detailed book on propagating trees. Not for the casual reader.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[207] Coffey. T. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File. 1993 ISBN 0-8160-2624-6
A nice read, lots of information on plant uses.

[235] Britton. N. L. Brown. A. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada Dover Publications. New York. 1970 ISBN 0-486-22642-5
Reprint of a 1913 Flora, but still a very useful book.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

Lonicera canadensis

Stephen UK (stephen4@learn.com) Thu Feb 8 16:20:53 2001

This sit is very informative, but I have a very BIG quistion. I have this plant and lots of others in a differnt name, Eg, Lonicera xylosteum (fly honeysuckle) L.nitida (Baggesen's Gold). As I have mentioned above there is a lot of the names that do not match!! I get all my information from A lot of books, mostley from RHS, GARDENERS' ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PLANTS & FLOWERS BY CHRISTOPHER BRICKELL I am doing myy NVQ level 2 in horticulture and I need the correct name of the plants who should I follow this site or all the books I read ??? Stephen UK

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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