Stats

Lifespan: Perennial
Size: Medium
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Temperate forest
Range: East Asia
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Toxins
Status: Common

About

A large invasive shrub from eastern Asia that has overrun woodlands across eastern North America, leafing out two to three weeks earlier than native shrubs to shade them out completely. Its paired white-to-yellow tubular flowers are sweetly fragrant, giving way to clusters of bright red berries.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Dipsacales
Family: Caprifoliaceae
Genus: Lonicera
Species: Lonicera maackii