Lonicera involucrata

General: Honeysuckle family (Caprifoliaceae). Twinberry honeysuckle (Lonicera involucrata) is an erect clustered shrub one to three meters high with freely exfoliating bark (Peck 1961). The leaves are opposite, short-stemmed, somewhat elliptical to broadly lanced shaped, pointed often hairy beneath (Pojar & MacKinnon 1994). The flowers are yellow, tinged with red, and cupped by a large pair of green to purplish bracts. The fruits are roundish or oval, blackish berries, paired on long axillary stalks and distinct; ripening August or September (Grimm 1993).

Distribution: Lonicera involcrata is widely distributed across North America from Quebec westward to Alaska and British Columbia and southward into California, Colorado, Utah, and Arizona (McMinn 1939). For current distribution, please consult the Plant profile page for this species on the PLANTS Web site.

twinberry, black twin-berry, four-line honeysuckle, bearberry honeysuckle

Canada

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

United States

Origin: Unknown/Undetermined

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Unknown/Undetermined

Confidence: Confident

Lonicera involucrata (Richardson) Banks ex Spreng.:
Canada (North America)
United States (North America)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

Twinberry honeysuckle is typically found in moist forests, clearings, riparian habitats, swamps and thickets (MacKinnon, Pojar & Coupe 1992). It prefers a good moist soil but can succeed in any fertile soil. This species grows best and produces abundance of fruit in open sunlight compared to a lost of fruit when grown in the shade.

Propagation by Seed: Lonicera involucrata seeds should be collected from isolated plants and extracted by maceration in water (Dirr & Heuser 1987). Sow the seeds as soon as they are ripe in a cold frame. When the seedlings are large enough, plant them directly into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer.

The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species.

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 3
Specimens with Barcodes: 9
Species With Barcodes: 1

Canada

Rounded National Status Rank: N5 - Secure

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: NNR - Unranked

Rounded Global Status Rank: G5 - Secure

Please consult the Plants Web site and your State Department of Natural Resources for this plant’s current status, such as, state noxious status and wetland indicator values.

Somewhat available from native plant nurseries. Contact your local Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly Soil Conservation Service) office for more information. Look in the phone book under ”United States Government.” The Natural Resources Conservation Service will be listed under the subheading “Department of Agriculture.”

Twinberry honeysuckle berries has been noted as poisonous. The fruit is bitter and sour and are eaten by some. Since the European species of honeysuckle species are regarded as emetic and cathartic, they are better avoided in favor of something less dubious (Mozingo 1987).

Twinberry honeysuckle is considered toxic and should be used with caution.

Ethnobotanic: The Quileute and Kwakwaka’wakw people used these berries as a black pigment (Pojar & MacKinnon 1994). The Haida rubbed the berries on the scalp to prevent hair from turning gray (Ibid.).

A decoction of the bark has been applied to a woman’s breasts to encourage milk flow (Moerman 1998). An infusion was used to treat chest and stomach complaints and to cleanse the body (Ibid.). The Carrier boiled the leaves and used the liquid to bathe sore eyes, or applied the crushed leaves as a poultice to open sores (Pojar & MacKinnon 1994).