Winter Honeysuckle – the Lonicera fragrantissima

Winter Honeysuckle – the Lonicera fragrantissima – sweet breath of spring

Lonicera fragrantissima better known as winter honeysuckle, fragrant honeysuckle, bush honeysuckle, Chinese honeysuckle, January jasmine, kiss-me-at-the-gate, and sweet breath of spring.

The winter honeysuckle is native to China and has been introduced to other parts of the world. It was introduced in England in 1845, and soon after to America. In some parts of the world it is an invasive species.

The winter honeysuckle is used as an ornamental hedge plant due to its fragrant flowers. It is an untidy shrub, growing to 1-3 metres (3-10 feet), with tangled thin branches. Its paired, lemon-scented, white flowers are about one centimetre (0.4 inches) long.

Its fruit is a red berry, up to one centimetre wide. Its seeds are spread by animals when they eat the fruit.

This plant is considered a ‘harbinger of spring’ because it is one of the early plants to blossom at the first sign of warm spring weather.

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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