Coral Honeysuckle
Autumn follows Summer and Winter follows Autumn. It is a cycle we all know well and, the years have taught us that Winter will make way for Spring. In nature, as in life, timing is everything. And, this week, we look at how timing for one species of plant plays an important role in the lives of species of insects and the resident species of hummingbird at Harmony Hill. Remember that word “connection” we often go back to in nature? These connections are everywhere, and they are ever-present… and this is yet another example of the connections that surround us in the natural world.
We’ve talked about some of the early blooming flowers found at Harmony Hill; those wildflowers that blossom before most other plants and bring the first pops of color to the forests and fields. As humans, we enjoy the beauty and colors of those early bloomers. Animals, such as pollinators, key in on these plants as a life-giving source of nectar and pollen. Beginning in early March, an evergreen vine in the honeysuckle family (Caprifoliaceae) sends whorls of bright red trumpet flowers up and out to greet the spring sun.
Coral Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) is an easy to identify vine native to the eastern half of the United States. There are a number of vines at Harmony Hill with red, trumpet-shaped flowers; but, none look like Coral Honeysuckle. Let’s look at how we identify this wildflower, why it is different and how climate change is impacting the important role it plays in the forests of Harmony Hill.
Coral Honeysuckle has flowers that are narrow and long for the size of the vine. They are almost always a shade of bright red, though there are some mutations and cultivated varieties (cultivars) that can be on the yellow/orange spectrum. Whorled at the end of the vine stem in groups of as many as 14 or 15, the red flowers open to reveal an interior that can also be red, orange or yellowish. But, above all, they open to reveal stamens and anthers that are loaded with pollen and extend well out from the trumpet; unlike other ride flowering vines here, such as Trumpet Creeper (Campsis radicans) or Crossvine (Bignonia capreolata). Those stamens and anthers are our first identifying field mark to look for!
Next, the word you should keep in mind when looking at Coral Honeysuckle is “opposite”! Everything is opposite on this vine. Whether we’re talking about the leaves or the way the flowers are whorled, they occur opposite one another. The leaves are, by far, the easiest of the field markers to notice and their opposite nature is clear. Speaking of opposite leaves, the last leaves on the vine, just below the flowers, are fused together into what we call a perfoliate arrangement of leaves. This perfoliate arrangement gives Coral Honeysuckle the look of two leaves that are joined together and pierced through by the stem of the vine, with a gorgeous bouquet of red trumpets almost exploding outwards.
Neither of our other red-flowered vines at Harmony Hill exhibit this perfoliate leaf structure. One more critical field marking to look for!
As for that scientific name, it is a tribute to a botanist and to the evergreen nature of this plant. Adam Lonicer was a German botanist and the genus name of Lonicera is a direct nod to his study of botany and herbal medicine. As for the species name of sempervirens, that refers to the “always living” evergreen nature of this plant. Sempervirens is a scientific name that comes up when referring to evergreen and “eternal” species, such as the California Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens).
Finally, Coral Honeysuckle is a wonderful flower for native pollinators at Harmony Hill. As you can see, there is an abundance of pollen sitting right outside each flower. And, being in the honeysuckle family, there are drops of nectar on the inside top of each flower. Add that to the bright red flowers and you have a hummingbird magnet if ever there was one!
But, this flower doesn’t just attract hummingbirds, like the native Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris), at Harmony Hill. Butterflies, moths, bees and even ants are attracted to the pollen and nectar found on Coral Honeysuckle. As each pollinator examines the inside of the flower for tasty nectar, granules of pollen attach to their heads, legs and even wings. These pollen grains are then transferred over to another Coral Honeysuckle flower, where pollination can occur.
The fact that Coral Honeysuckle blooms early is no accident in nature. It begins blooming when there are few choices for pollinators, allowing it to attract their attention (and pollination skills!) when there are not many other plants to distract them. It also begins blooming just before, and just as, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds arrive at Harmony Hill. This provides a readily available food source for tired and hungry hummingbirds looking to feed up for the breeding season. Coral Honeysuckle also blooms on and off throughout the summer, giving pollinators (like hummingbirds) a food source right up until it is time to head south for the winter.
As climate change worsens and as we see warmer temperatures coming earlier and earlier each year, Coral Honeysuckle will continue to begin to bloom earlier, as well. This earlier bloom time will shift the overall blossom cycle of the plant here at Harmony Hill ahead on the calendar. This shift in blooming threatens to upset the balance of that readily available source of nectar and pollen for awakening and arriving pollinators.
In the years to come, as our planet warms and as seasons like Spring and Summer arrive earlier (and with a vengeance), the few days of Coral Honeysuckle blooming earlier will become weeks that it blooms early. And that change in bloom time will have an impact on the survivorship of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds that have traveled thousands of miles to return to places like Harmony Hill to breed. And we will see declines in populations of this lovely animal, along with populations of native bees, butterflies, moths and even ants.
There is no escaping the connection of one species to another. There is no escaping the connection we have to nature and to our planet. As John Muir once famously said, “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.” Truer words have rarely been spoken.