Limber Honeysuckle
Lonicera dioica
Found in seepages, bogs, rocky woods, shrubby mountain bogs at high elevations, rocky ridgetop thickets over amphibolite. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
72
Strong
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 3–10 feet
- Spread
- 3–6 feet
- Light
- Dappled sunlight, 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
- June to August
- Fruiting season
- August to September
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Recorded in 25 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
1 of 4
Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.
Wet, open, peaty mountain wetlands fed by seepage, often with sphagnum moss.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 105 animals.
- American KestrelFalco sparverius
- Blue-gray GnatcatcherPolioptila caerulea
- Blue-headed VireoVireo solitarius
- Chestnut-sided WarblerDendroica pensylvanica
- Cooper's HawkAccipiter cooperii
- Eastern BluebirdSialia sialis
- European StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- Evening GrosbeakCoccothraustes vespertinus
- Fox SparrowPasserella iliaca
- Hermit ThrushCatharus guttatus
- Hooded WarblerWilsonia citrina
- Kentucky WarblerOporornis formosus
- Least FlycatcherEmpidonax minimus
- Long-eared OwlAsio otus
- Mourning DoveZenaida macroura
- Northern CardinalCardinalis cardinalis
- Pine SiskinCarduelis pinus
- Red-tailed HawkButeo jamaicensis
- Rose-breasted GrosbeakPheucticus ludovicianus
- Ruby-crowned KingletRegulus calendula
- Ruby-throated HummingbirdArchilochus colubris
- Scarlet TanagerPiranga olivacea
- Sharp-shinned HawkAccipiter striatus
- Spotted SandpiperActitis macularius
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Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
36CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · 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
- Dysstroma truncataMarbled Carpet
Show all 36
- Ectropis crepusculariaThe Small Engrailed, Saddleback Looper
- 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
- Hyppa xylinoidesCommon Hyppa
- Leucania ursulaUrsula Wainscot
- Megalopyge opercularisSouthern Flannel Moth, Puss Caterpillar
- Melanchra adjunctaHitched Arches
- Melanchra pictaPainted Arches, Zebra Caterpillar Moth
- Oiketicus abbotiiAbbot's Bagworm Moth
- Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
- Orthosia hibisciSpeckled Green Fruitworm Moth, Speckled Green Quaker
- 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
- Zanclognatha dentataToothed Zanclognatha, Toothed Fan-Foot
- Herpetogramma aquilonalis
- 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
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Caprifoliaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 3a–5b
- Soil pH
- Neutral
- Flower color
- Yellow, orange, purple or red
- Fruit begins
- August
- Fruit ends
- September
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “June to August” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Yellow, orange, purple or red” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Fruit begins · “August” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “September” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Hardiness · “Zones 3a–5b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “3–10 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Minnesota Wildflowers differs)
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Woody perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Dappled sunlight (shade through upper canopy all day); 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
- Soil · “Moist; Occasionally dry; Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil pH · “Neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “3–6 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Wild Honeysuckle
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | S4 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
In your garden
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Choose a county to begin.
Sources
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- FloraQuest: Northern Tier (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- 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