Himalayan Honeysuckle is a
non-native
perennial plant of the UK, typically found growing in hedgerows and waste ground, to a mature height of up to 250cm.
Himalayan Honeysuckle is a tall shrub, with large paired leaves and unusual dangling flowerspikes. These are made up of tiered whorls of reddish-brown bracts (four overlapping bracts to a whorl). Nestled inside each set of bracts is a cluster of white flowers. After pollination, these flowers are replaced by shiny red berries, which eventually turn black. Himalayan Honeysuckle is native to the Himalayas and China and was introduced into the UK as a garden ornamental plant in the nineteenth century. It exists in the wild as a garden 'escape'.
Botanic classification and naming: Himalayan Honeysuckle is a member of the Honeysuckle (Caprifoliaceae) family. The genus name
'Leycesteria' identifies the plant as a soft-stemmed Honeysuckle and its species name 'formosa' means 'beautiful plant'.
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