Forage Friday #73 Japanese Honeysuckle

Please remember that Forage Friday is only intended to be a conversation starter and all of the information is presented as trivia and should not be mistaken for an endorsement of treatment of treatment.

Mostly associated with early Spring and Summer Japanese Honeysuckle in known for its overwhelmingly sweet scent. Some people are actually sent into an asthmatic episode by it Japanese Honeysuckle because of three strong fragrance. But for the rest of the world this invasive species does hold some benefits.

Like many of the invasive species in the Appalachian Mountains Japanese Honeysuckle was brought here in 1800s as an ornamental plant and as a ground cover. The rabbits and deer soon found out the flowers were quite tasty and even the hummingbirds are fond of sweet nectar from honeysuckle. The flowers themselves can also be consumed by humans. As a young boy I learned that pinching the flowers of at the base allowed one to suck out the nectar deep inside.

The flower can be added to salads but us most recognized as a medicinal tea. Traditional uses for the tea are centered around sore throat and bronchitis. However Japanese contains Methyl caffeate which according to the Wikipedia article may help both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. ( I should point out that I’m not giving advice here and that Wikipedia article was a little beyond my understanding.) In short my layman’s perspective is that it makes one more sensitive to insulin and that could lead to bottoming out. Which is a good reason to pay attention to the disclaimer at the top of the article.

Traditional Chinese use includes skin infection and tumor necrosis.

Eating the berries was not recommended only the flowers are used.

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