Caprifoliaceae

▪ plant family

      the honeysuckle family of the teasel order (Dipsacales), well known for its many ornamental shrubs and vines, primarily composed of north temperate species but including some tropical mountain plants. The family has 5 genera and 220 species, mostly woody shrubs and vines. One member of the family, Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), is a fragrant flowering vine that kills other plants by climbing over them and shutting out the light.

      An outstanding evergreen shrub is Mexican abelia (Abelia floribunda) with bright-green, oval leaves and small clusters of fragrant, pinkish-purple, tubular flowers. It may reach 1.8 metres (6 feet) but usually is shorter. The glossy abelia (A. grandiflora), about the same height but with pinkish-white blooms, is evergreen in warm climates and deciduous farther north. It is a hybrid between two Chinese species, A. chinensis and A. uniflora.

      The elderberries (elder) of the Sambucus canadensis of North America are used for making wines and jellies. Large, showy bracts (leaflike structures) enclose the fruits of Dipelta, a genus of ornamental, fragrant, flowering, tall shrubs native to China. Himalaya honeysuckle (Leycesteria formosa) has long leaves and produces drooping spikes of purple flowers with purple bracts.

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