THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Honeysuckle

Lisa Karen Miller

          Ah, summer nights! Nothing tastes as summery as a freshly plucked honeysuckle blossom: pull out the end and suck out the honey-flavored nectar.  Heavenly. Its scent was so heady it was thought to produce erotic dreams; therefore, many a maiden was forbidden by her parents to bring it into the house.

          Lonicera, or Woodbine, was used to soothe labor pains and treat urinary and respiratory ailments. Pliny suggested its use for disorders of the spleen.  A Chinese medical tome, Tang Bencao, from the 7^th century, recommends it to remove heat and toxins from the body. Crush and steep the flowers to make a tea for headaches, bronchitis, shortness of breath, and asthma.

          Japanese honeysuckle is used in cooling summer drinks. Modern tests have confirmed its ability to raise or lower blood sugar.  It also has antibacterial and detoxifying properties, and can be used to treat flu, coughs, swollen lymph glands, and food poisoning. Its common oriental name is “Gold and Silver Flower,” for its white and yellow blooms.

In the language of flowers, it says generous, selfless, and devoted love, as well as “We belong to each other.” Because it brings luck to lovers, weddings often follow its appearance in nature. In Lowland Scotland a honeysuckle stick (a stick, usually of hazel, which honeysuckle had twined around) was a vital courting tool; it brought luck to the endeavor and signified honorable intentions.

          It was often planted close to houses so its scent could perfume the air inside.  Just as today, people thought air that smelled nice was clean and healthy. It also kept anyone with ill intentions outside, so it would be hung above the door.

          Anyone who has a fence with honeysuckle growing along it knows its capacity to bring down manmade structures.  Its woody vines, pliable when young, form a sturdy and impenetrable fortress when they wind themselves through chain link or around boards.

          Pollinated by moths and long-tongued bees, honeysuckle develops bright red berries in autumn which are poisonous to humans, though birds can eat them.  Dormice prefer the bark for nest building.  The hummingbird hawk moth can detect the scent (stronger at night, when they fly) up to a quarter mile away.

          In Scotland, sprigs of rowan and honeysuckle were hung in the barn to protect the cattle.  Sick children were passed three times through a hoop of honeysuckle cut at the waxing moon.  The Scots also considered it “a mighty barrier to the ingress of the witch.”

          The potent aroma of honeysuckle signals that summer has begun.

© Copyright 2023 Lisa Karen Miller