Caprifoliaceae

Description

A tall shrub with opposite leaves and pairs of small yellow flowers in the leaf axils which grows in forest opens and edges, thickets, and marshes.

At a Glance

• Plant Type: Shrub
• Distribution: This plant grows from Alaska to California (including British Columbia), and east to the Rocky Mountains. This plant grows on both sides of the Cascades crest and at the coast in Washington.
• Height: This plant grows 2 to 13 feet (0.5 to 4 m) in height.
• Flowers: This plant produces axillary peduncles with two pairs of conspicuous bracts at the summit. The peduncles are broad and green or may be purple-tinged, turning purplish-red and spreading when fruit is produced. The paired flowers are closely subtended by the bracts with yellow corollas (sometimes red-tinged). The corollas are glandular-pubescent and 3/8 of an inch to 7/8 of an inch (1 to 2 cm) in length. Each flower contains 5 stamens and the 3-celled ovary is inferior.
• Leaves: The opposite leaves are produced on short petioles and are elliptic-oblong to elliptic-ovate in shape and pointed. The leaves are usually glabrous (hairless) on the upper surface and stiff-hairy on the lower surface, and grow 2 to 5-1/2 inches (5 to 14 cm) in length.
• Fruits: Shiny, black, globe-shaped berries are produced which are 3/8 of an inch (1 cm) wide.
• Notable features: The bark is gray and shaggy. The young twigs are quadrangular in cross-section. The genus name, Lonicera, is named for Adam Lonitzer (1528-1586), who was a German naturalist. The species name, involucrata, means 'with an involucre,' which refers to the twin bracts surrounding the flowers and fruit.
• Synonyms: Lonicera involucrata var. flavescens, Distegia involucrata, and Xylosteon involucratum

Restoration and Conservation

The tubular shaped flowers provide an important nectar source for hummingbirds, butterflies, and moths.  The berries are eaten by birds, small mammals, and bears. In restoration applications, Twinberry is a great shrub to plant along shorelines and help stabilize stream banks. 

Ethnobotany

The berries may be poisonous and at the very least considered inedible. The plant was used in a variety of ways by Native Americans by using the leaves, berries, or bark as poultices or tea for various ailments.  The Quileute and Kwakwaka’wakw tribes used the berries for a black pigment, and the Haida used them for a black hair dye.

References

• Pojar, J and MacKinnon, A. 2004. Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast: Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Alaska. Vancouver (BC): Lone Pine Publishing.
• United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service: https://plants.usda.gov/home/plantProfile?symbol=LOIN5 
• University of Washington-Bothell, The North Creek Wetland: https://www.uwb.edu/wetlands/plants/lonicera-involucrata 
• WTU Image Herbarium: http://biology.burke.washington.edu/herbarium/imagecollection/taxon.php?Taxon=Lonicera%20involucrata

Page Editors/Authors

• Sarah Verlinde
• Mayme O'Toole
• Gerald B. Stanley

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