Lonicera implexa

Scientific description

Taxon: Lonicera implexa
Class: Dicotyledons (Magnoliopsida)
Subclass: Asterids
Order: Dipsacales
Family: Caprifoliaceae
Common name: Climbing honeysuckle

Origin:
Mediterranean region, southern Europe.

Description:
Climbing vine or scrambling shrub 2–4 m long. Leaves oval to rounded, often opposite; upper leaves fused at the base. Flowers in terminal clusters, tubular, cream to pink-purple, highly fragrant, blooming spring and summer. Attracts pollinators, especially butterflies. Fruits small red berries, not edible. Common in Mediterranean maquis and hedgerows, twining around supports without tendrils.

Propagation:
Seeds (bird-dispersed) or semi-woody cuttings in summer.

Ecology:
Typical of garrigue, maquis, woodland margins, and hedges. Tolerant of drought and calcareous soils. Attracts birds and insect pollinators.

Uses:
Ornamental plant for dry gardens. Fragrant flowers appreciated. Historical medicinal use, rare today.

Threats:
Not threatened. Common species, well adapted to Mediterranean climate. Locally sensitive to overgrazing and uprooting.

Creative writing inspired by Lonicera implexa

Balearic honeysuckle

Once upon a time, Rita was a prisoner in a castle. Her stepmother wouldn't let her out, because she was jealous of her beauty and feared that a royal boy would kidnap her. She only let her walk and play with the forest animals in the garden, with whom she conversed and who were her only friends. Every morning, she secretly watered a small tree she'd planted long ago, which was beginning to climb slowly up the castle walls. The plant was called Balearic honeysuckle.

One day, while Rita was playing with her ball, it left the garden and she was unable to fetch it, her mother-in-law having forbidden her to leave. Just as Rita thought she'd lost her ball, the only toy she had for playing with her animal friends, she saw a young man dressed as a knight approaching her with his ball. Not knowing how to react, as Rita was not used to social interaction, she took the ball, thanked the young man and started to walk away. The young man said, “Wait! What's your name?”. Rita tells him her name and he admits that he thinks she's very pretty. She blushes.

As soon as her stepmother sees the scene, she grabs her, closes all the castle doors and imprisons Rita in her room, no longer allowing her out into the garden. Rita cries incessantly and at the same time doesn't know what's happening to her, because she feels butterflies in her stomach when she thinks of the charming young man. She wants to see him again, but she can't. The young man comes looking for her every day, but no one answers. Until one evening, when she arrives at the castle, she spots the vine that leads to Rita's room and starts climbing it. Rita opens the window and is stunned by the sight before her. Fortunately, her mother-in-law is asleep.

Thanks to the Balearic honeysuckle, the two of them climb down together and leave the castle forever. And the plant becomes the symbol of their love.

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Authentic Specimen