Lonicera xylosteum Seeds | European Fly Honeysuckle

Paired bright red berries and grey-green leaves of European fly honeysuckle in autumn — European Fly Honeysuckle (*Lonicera xylosteum*): Caprifoliaceae, Europe and western Asia.

LATIN NAME: Lonicera xylosteum

COMMON NAME: European Fly Honeysuckle

Plant Profile

European fly honeysuckle is a stiff, upright shrub of two to three metres, with paired grey-green leaves, small cream flowers in late spring and bright red berries in twin pairs in autumn. It is a woodland-edge plant of Europe and western Asia, tolerant of shade, lime and poor soil, and it has the dense, twiggy habit that makes a good hedge. It is not the honeysuckle of the hedgerow, which climbs and is scented, and it is not the source of the Chinese herb Jin Yin Hua. Its bark is grey and shreds in thin strips, and the whole shrub has a hard, twiggy look in winter.

Science & Biotechnology

The species is a diploid in a genus where polyploidy is common, which has made it useful in breeding and in studies of Lonicera evolution. Its berries contain saponins and xanthones and are toxic, causing vomiting and abdominal pain, and they should never be eaten; the name fly honeysuckle comes from the old practice of using the crushed berries to attract and kill flies. The flowers are pollinated by long-tongued bees and moths, and the paired berries are eaten by thrushes, which disperse the seed. It is also a host of the honeysuckle aphid, and it has been used as a hardy rootstock in ornamental breeding. Its fruit is eaten by blackbirds and waxwings as well as thrushes, and the seed passes through them intact.

Uses & Benefits

In the garden it is a useful shrub for shade, a hedge plant, a game cover and a wildlife plant, and its late spring flowers are a good early source of nectar. The wood is hard and fine-grained and has been used for small turned work. It has no place in medicine: the Chinese herb Jin Yin Hua comes from Lonicera japonica, a different species, and the berries of this one are poisonous, which is the single most important thing to know about it. It is a plant to admire and to hedge with, not to harvest. The flowers are also a good source of pollen for early bumblebee queens.

Growing from Seed

Sow the seed in autumn and leave the pots outside, since it needs cold and damp; germination is in the second spring and can be uneven. Alternatively, take softwood cuttings in June, which is faster and gives uniform plants. Grow the seedling in any reasonable soil, in sun or part shade, and plant out at two years. It clips well, so it can be kept as a hedge at one and a half metres, and it needs little else beyond an annual trim after flowering and a mulch in spring. In deep shade it thins and fruits less, so give it at least half a day of sun.

Our Take

A tough shade-tolerant shrub with poisonous red berries, and a reminder that not every honeysuckle is a herb. Plant it for the hedge and the birds, and leave the berries alone.

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