History in the United States

Amur honeysuckle was imported as ornamental into New York in 1898 through the New York Botanical Garden. It has been widely planted for wildlife cover and soil erosion control but long ago escaped from plantings and began reproducing on its own and spreading into natural areas. Other invasive exotic shrub honeysuckles include fragrant (L. fragrantissima), Standish’s (L. standishii), Morrow’s (L. morrowii), Tartarian (L. tatarica), and Bell’s (L. x bella), a hybrid between Tartarian and Morrow’s. These are less common in our area.