Credits

Created by Erin Ziegler, Explore Natural Communities Intern Summer 2015, NatureServe.

Music: Folk Round, by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Photo: Japanese Honeysuckle, by Flickr user BlueRidgeKitties. Licensed under Creative Commons: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0

Transcript

Podcast time: 2:00 minutes

A familiar scent may bring you back to your childhood days when you picked the white-and-yellow flowers off this sweet-smelling vine or bush to eat the "honey." But, the fragrant honeysuckle you may be so fond of could be the non-native invasive Japanese honeysuckle vine (Lonicera japonica), or one of several exotic bush honeysuckles (Lonicera spp.). If left unchecked, this beautiful but menacing plant could continue invading the native habitat in Rock Creek Park.

Honeysuckles are characterized by their yellow and white, tubular flowers containing a drop of sweet nectar near their base, and by the paired leaves that grow along their stems. Though they now grow wild in Rock Creek Park, these honeysuckles are from southern Asia and western Europe. They were planted as ornamentals in the U.S. in the 17- and 1800’s, and later on for erosion control. Now growing in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains, they destroy native habitat in forests and wetlands, and are considered some of the most troublesome non-native invasive species.

People aren't the only ones to blame for this invasion, however. Birds act as carriers for the seeds, by eating the black or red fruits, and spreading them as they fly through Rock Creek Park. As a result, non-native invasive honeysuckle has sprouted all over the park and pushed out native species.

This invasion causes big problems for the forests. The Japanese honeysuckle vines wrap around and kill young trees, while the bush honeysuckle grows in dense patches. The honeysuckle blocks out the sunlight that tree seedlings and other plants need to get started. Without new trees to replace the old ones as they die, this will lead to bare patches in the canopy and plenty of sunshine for the honeysuckle to soak up.

You can help fight the invasive honeysuckle by joining a volunteer event with Rock Creek Park, or by not planting honeysuckles and removing it from your yard or garden. Maybe consider planting the native coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens). Be aware of the sweet-smelling-problem plants and help protect this park's native plants and natural communities.

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