PLANT LIBRARY
Honeysuckle
Honeysuckle – Lonicifera caprifolium
Plant family
Caprifoliaceae
Part used
Whole plant
Symbol of devoted of both love and loyalty, honeysuckle comes from Europe and Minor Asia. The shape of its flowers represents the ties of love uniting two people, which is as strong as the creepers of a plant, deploying with no way of stopping them. In the middle Ages, it was used for its medicinal virtues as antispasmodic and anti-inflammatory, to fight against infectious diseases.
Honeysuckle is a climbing plant, enjoying temperate climate. The plant grows up to 6 meters high in hedges and along walls. Its light green leaves are ovals and opposed. Flowers, light pink to creamy white, appear at the beginning of summer and leave a nice smell, especially during night time. They have a long thin tube, at the end of which petals form two lips, and contain sugary nectar. Berries, succeeding to flowers, are red-orange colored, and slightly toxic.
Used for its therapeutic benefits, honeysuckle has antibacterial and antioxidant proven properties. In cosmetic, it brings astringent, regenerating and softening properties, due to its important composition in hydroxycinnamic acids, flavonoids, tannins and triterpeneoid saponins.