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Limber Honeysuckle

Lonicera dioica

Found in seepages, bogs, rocky woods, shrubby mountain bogs at high elevations, rocky ridgetop thickets over amphibolite. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

72
Strong

Native to West 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?

Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source

Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.

At a glance

Life cycle
Woody perennial
Leaves
Deciduous
Bloom
June to August
Fruiting season
August to September

Recorded in 1 West Virginia county.

Natural habitats

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

1 of 4

Seeps and springs

Places where groundwater keeps the soil or rock wet, such as seepage slopes and spring runs.

Forests and woodlands

Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.

Mountain bogs and fens

Wet, open, peaty mountain wetlands fed by seepage, often with sphagnum moss.

Forest edges and thickets

Borders of forests, clearings and shrubby thickets.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in West Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 105 animals.

All wildlife of West Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

36CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV

Genus host records with ranges including WV · 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
  • Celastrina luciaLucia Azure
  • 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
  • Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
  • Orthosia hibisciSpeckled Green Fruitworm Moth, Speckled Green Quaker
  • Orthotaenia undulanaDusky Leafroller
  • Palthis angulalisDark-Spotted Palthis
  • Polia purpurissataPurple Arches
  • 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
  • Alucita adriendenisi
  • Herpetogramma aquilonalis
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 3a–5b
Soil pH
Neutral
Flower color
Yellow, orange, purple or red
Fruit begins
August
Fruit ends
September
Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Wild Honeysuckle

Conservation status

West Virginia rankS1
Global rankG5
WV statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources