Invasive Species: Pesky Plants by Chris Kjolhede
Tatarian Honeysuckle, Be Gone!
When I was a young boy in the summers, my brothers and I used to have “poison berry” fights. This entailed finding a “poison berry bush,” picking handfuls of the small red or orange berries and pitching them at the nearest sibling. These bushes were often ornamental shrubs in neighbors’ yards. Local birds, especially robins, loved these berries and were a key contributor to the honeysuckles’ widespread presence in the vacant fields and hedgerows. Our fights were pretty harmless except for the fact that we were helping spread what we now know is one of the many invasive species cluttering up our natural environment.
There are a number of species of honeysuckles that are now classified as “invasive.” To be invasive, a plant must be a non-native plant and can outcompete and suppress the growth of native plant forms. In New York State, there are four such invasive forms of honeysuckle. These arrived in the U.S. from Southern Russia and Central Asia in the 1750s and have spread widely across the continent. Now, in some states, it is illegal to transport, buy or plant honeysuckle shrubs.
