Friday, May 11, 2007

The Invasive Amur Honeysuckle

Does the term "invasive species" resonate with you? Hopefully it does. Naturalist types like myself have been trying to push out to the public the whole invasive species concept ad nauseum. Anyways, Ohio has many plants that aren't originally from this state or even continent, but got here one way or another. Many of these plants have escaped and thrived. One such plant is Amur honeysuckle, or Lonicera maackii. It seems to be just past peak bloom. Look through for it all throughout Columbus in woods and forests. If you remember, I blogged this winter about a removal project going on in Kenney Park. This shrub can grow quite dense in the understory of the forest or even along fence rows. The flowers are white and have a sweet smell which I am not fond of! This plant has been incredibly successful here in Ohio. It is the dominant shrub in most of Columbus's urban forests, and it has only been in the state for 100 years or so, depending on whom you ask. I captured this shot in Kenney Park.

 


Tom
Posted by Picasa

1 comment:

  1. I see why they call it invasive. I live in Sharonville, OH on the 2nd floor of an apartment complex, overlooking a small wooded area, which is predominately Amur Honeysuckle. We have a dogwood tree outside our patio, but this shrub has taken over half the tree. We haven't lived here long enough to see the berries. I've been trying to find what it was called on the web... now I have! Thank you!

    ReplyDelete