Tulips Talk

Meaning of Flowers – Honeysuckle

January 23rd, 2008

Honeysuckle ~ The bonds of love, sweetness of disposition   
Botanical Name: Lonicera     Family: Caprifoliaceae“Ye have been fresh and green,Ye have been fill’d with flowers;
And ye the walks have been
Where Maids have spent their hours”
- Robert Herrick (1591-1674)

Honeysuckle got its name from the sweet nectar in the center of the flower. Sweetly scented (pungent), it is beloved and admired by poets and writers for its virtues; Shakespeare often called it by the country name of Woodbine. With woody stems that twine clockwise around anything in its path, the honeysuckle is known as a climbing wild flower.

According to 100 Flowers and How They Got Their Names, by Diana Wells, the Honeysuckle is pollinated by the Hawk Moth. A Viennese botanist, Kerner, did an experiment to see how far it would travel to do the job. He placed the moth three hundred yards away from the nearest honeysuckle early in the morning and marked it. When dusk fell, he watched the moth wave its feelers and head straight for the very same blossom.

Entry Filed under: History of Flowers,Meaning of Flowers