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Yellow Honeysuckle

Lonicera flava

Found in soil mats around granitic domes, limestone bluffs, rocky woodlands. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you

74
Strong

Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 94%

Height
10–20 feet
Spread
3–6 feet
Light
Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Somewhat dry to moist

Space about 4.5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 5 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Woody perennial
Leaves
Deciduous
Bloom
April to May
Fruiting season
July to August

Recorded in 13 Alabama counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

Forests and woodlands

Trail on Little Kennesaw Mountain.
Named place / source context. Shown: Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, Georgia, a neighboring state.Trail on Little Kennesaw Mountain., Unidentified in HFC record, undated. Public domain. Source record.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 98 animals.

All wildlife of Alabama

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

27CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Lonicera

  • Hemaris diffinisSnowberry Clearwing
  • Hemaris thysbeHummingbird Clearwing
  • Acronicta oblinitaSmeared Dagger
  • Aethalura intertextaFour-Barred Gray
  • Amorbia humerosanaWhite-Lined Leafroller Moth
  • Argyrotaenia velutinanaRed-Banded Leafroller Moth, Jack Pine Tube Moth
  • Callizzia amorataGray Scoopwing
  • Choristoneura rosaceanaOblique-Banded Leafroller Moth, Rosaceous Leaf Roller
  • Ectropis crepusculariaThe Small Engrailed, Saddleback Looper
  • Egira alternansAlternate Woodling
Show all 27
  • Euphydryas phaetonThe Baltimore, The Black Checker
  • Harrisimemna trisignataHarris's Three-Spot
  • Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
  • Herpetogramma thestealisZigzag Herpetogramma, Subtle-Feathered Grass Moth
  • Hyalophora cecropiaCecropia Silkmoth, Cecropia Moth
  • Hyles lineataWhite-Lined Sphinx
  • Hypercompe scriboniaGiant Leopard Moth, Great Leopard Moth
  • Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
  • Leucania pilipalpisZippered Wainscot
  • Leucania ursulaUrsula Wainscot
  • Megalopyge opercularisSouthern Flannel Moth, Puss Caterpillar
  • Oiketicus abbotiiAbbot's Bagworm Moth
  • Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
  • Orthosia hibisciSpeckled Green Fruitworm Moth, Speckled Green Quaker
  • Palthis angulalisDark-Spotted Palthis
  • Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
  • Uresiphita reversalisGenista Caterpillar, Genista Cbroom Moth
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
16BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Lonicera

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
10BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Lonicera

  • Bonasa umbellusRuffed Grouse
  • Catharus guttatusHermit Thrush
  • Catharus ustulatusSwainson's Thrush
  • Ixoreus naeviusVaried Thrush
  • Mimus polyglottosNorthern Mockingbird
  • Myadestes townsendiTownsend's Solitaire
  • Pinicola enucleatorPine Grosbeak
  • Pipilo maculatusSpotted Towhee
  • Turdus migratoriusAmerican Robin
  • Vireo olivaceusRed-eyed Vireo
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Caprifoliaceae
Hardiness
Zones 5a–8b
Flower color
Yellow or orange
Fruit begins
July
Fruit ends
August

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope

Conservation status

Alabama rankS3
Global rankG5?
AL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources