Coral Honeysuckle
Lonicera sempervirens
A climbing native honeysuckle with red-orange trumpets visited by hummingbirds. Found in dry forests and woodlands, maritime forests. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 10–20 feet with support
- Spread
- 3–6 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Usually 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
- Perennial twining vine
- Leaves
- Deciduous or evergreen
- Bloom
- March to July
- Fruiting season
- July to September
Recorded in 49 Florida counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.
Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Florida. Shared habitat, not food. 91 animals.
- Acadian FlycatcherEmpidonax virescens
- American CrowCorvus brachyrhynchos
- American GoldfinchCarduelis tristis
- American KestrelFalco sparverius
- American RedstartSetophaga ruticilla
- American RobinTurdus migratorius
- American WoodcockScolopax minor
- Bald EagleHaliaeetus leucocephalus
- Baltimore OrioleIcterus galbula
- Barred OwlStrix varia
- Belted KingfisherMegaceryle alcyon
- Black VultureCoragyps atratus
- Black-and-White WarblerMniotilta varia
- Blue GrosbeakPasserina caerulea
- Blue JayCyanocitta cristata
- Blue-gray GnatcatcherPolioptila caerulea
- Broad-winged HawkButeo platypterus
- Brown CreeperCerthia americana
- Brown ThrasherToxostoma rufum
- Carolina ChickadeePoecile carolinensis
- Carolina WrenThryothorus ludovicianus
- Cedar WaxwingBombycilla cedrorum
- Chimney SwiftChaetura pelagica
- Chipping SparrowSpizella passerina
Who uses this plant?
29CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL
Genus host records with ranges including FL · Lonicera
- Hemaris diffinisSnowberry Clearwing
- Hemaris thysbeHummingbird Clearwing
- Acronicta oblinitaSmeared Dagger
- Aethalura intertextaFour-Barred Gray
- Amorbia humerosanaWhite-Lined Leafroller Moth
- Archips negundanaLarger Boxelder 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
Show all 29
- Egira alternansAlternate Woodling
- 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
- Megalopyge opercularisSouthern Flannel Moth, Puss Caterpillar
- Oiketicus abbotiiAbbot's Bagworm Moth
- Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
- Orthotaenia undulanaDusky Leafroller
- Palthis angulalisDark-Spotted Palthis
- Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
- Sympistis badistrigaBrown-Lined Sallow
- Uresiphita reversalisGenista Caterpillar, Genista Cbroom Moth
- Opostegoides scioterma
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
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
Ruby-throated hummingbird — Drinks flower nectar
Songbirds — Eat the red berries
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Caprifoliaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 4a–9b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to neutral
- Flower color
- Yellow, orange or red
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Growth habit
- Several stems
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- July
- Fruit ends
- September
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Provide a trellis or fence. Prune after flowering and avoid excessive nitrogen fertilizer. NC State Extension
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Late summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Flower color · “Yellow, orange or red” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “July” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “September” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Growth habit · “Several stems” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Rapid” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Hardiness · “Zones 4a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “10–20 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
- Leaves · “Deciduous or evergreen” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Woody perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain differ)
- Soil · “Moist” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain differ)
- Soil pH · “Acidic to neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “3–6 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Recognizing it
Opposite upper leaves join around the stem below clusters of narrow, non-fragrant flowers. Identification source
Also known as
Trumpet Honeysuckle
Conservation status
| Florida rank | S4S5 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| FL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Atlas of Florida Plants
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications
- NC State Extension