LONICERA NUMMULARIIFOLIA

Family:- CAPRIFOLIACEAE/Sect. CAPRIFOLIUM

Common Names:- Oriental honeysuckle

Synonyms:- Caprifolium nummulariifolium.

Meaning:- Lonicera (L) For Adam Lonitzer (1528-86) German physician and

botanist.

Nummulariifolia (L) With circular, coin-like leaves.

General description:- Erect shrub or small tree.

Stem:-

a) up to 2-5 m.

Leaves:-

1) Blade:

a) 1.5-3 cm.

b) short-petiolate.

c) broadly elliptical to obovate or soborbicular.

d) puberulent.

Flower:-

a) 10-18 mm.

b) short-pedunculate.

c) in axillary pairs.

d) tube shorter than the limb.

Fruit:-

1) Berries:

a) free, subglobose.

b) crowned by a small, persistent calyx.

c) yellowish when ripe.

key features:-

1) Corolla 10-18 mm.

2) Flower in axillary pairs.

Habitat:- Rocky limestone slopes, mostly in open coniferous woodland and by

mountain roads. 800-1600 m.

Distribution:- Peloponnisos and mainland Greece northwards, fairly rare and

scattered. - Also in Cyrenaica; widespread in SW Asia. Rare on Crete, known from

only a few scattered locations.

Flowering time:- End of Apr to June.

Photos by:- Courtesy of Wiki-Commons