Species: Lonicera oblongifolia var. oblongifolia (Goldie) Hook.

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Lonicera oblongifolia var. oblongifolia (Goldie) Hook.

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TAXONOMY

Family:

Caprifoliaceae

Genus:

Lonicera

Species Synonyms:

none

Common Names:

swamp fly honeysuckle

DISTRIBUTION

Canada:

eastern Saskatchewan - Manitoba - New Brunswick - Nova Scotia

Saskatchewan:

east-central Saskatchewan; Nipawin - Porcupine Hills

Ecoregion:

Boreal Transition, Mid-Boreal Lowland

HABITAT

Saskatchewan:

wet, shaded woods and muskegs

Associated Species:

alderleaf buckthorn, American red raspberry, black spruce, sticky false asphodel, sweetberry honeysuckle, tamarack

RARITY STATUS

Provincial Status According
to Harms (2003):

Threatened

Nature Conservancy Status:

G4 S2

Saskatchewan Species at
Risk Status:

None

COSEWIC Status:

None

Swamp fly honeysuckle is threatened in Saskatchewan because it is uncommon. This species is regionally restricted to two general regions of the province and most local populations are small. No immediate threats are known for this species

SPECIES DESCRIPTION

Height:

80 – 100 cm

Stems:

shrubby; bark greyish, smooth; branchlets filled with spongy tissue

Leaves:

opposite, stalkless to short-stalked, blades distinct; 2 – 5 cm long, 1 – 2.5 cm wide, broadly elliptic to spoon-shaped, tip acute to obtuse, hairy below, may be nearly hairless above, margin entire

Inflorescence:

flowers in pairs in axils of the leaves; stalks longer than flowers; outer bracts absent, inner bracts very short

Flowers:

sepal teeth very short; petals irregular, at most 1.5 cm long, deeply two-lipped, lower lip divergent, tubular, yellowish to pinkish with age; stamens 5; ovary inferior, stigma head-like

Fruits:

berry many-seeded, red to yellow-orange

*KEY TO LONICERA* IN SASKATCHEWAN**

1 Stems twining; some upper leaves fused; flowers conspicuous, clusters terminal	L. dioica
1 Stems erect; all leaves distinct; flowers less conspicuous, clusters in axils of leaves	2

2 Bracts 4, green to dark purple, large (at least in fruit); petals almost regular; berries purple-black	L. involucrata
2 Bracts 2, green, small; petals 2-lipped; berries blue or red or yellow	3

3 Stalks shorter than to equalling flowers	4
3 Stalks longer than flowers	5

4 Berries blue, solitary; leaves nearly sessile, oblong to spoon-shaped, long-hairy beneath	L. villosa var. soloist
4 Berries red or yellow, in pairs; leaves short-stalked, narrowly elliptic to oblong, gray woolly hairy beneath	L. morrowii

5 Branchlets hollow in the centre; leaves hairless, heart-shaped to oval; bractlets distinct	L. tartarica
5 Branchlets with a spongy centre; leaves hairy at least below, broadly elliptic; bractlets minute or absent	L. oblongifolia var. oblongifolia