Morrow Honeysuckle (Lonicera morrowii)
Present distribution
|  This weed is not known to be naturalised in Victoria | ||||
| Habitat: Potential habitats from lowland to montane areas may include forests, forest edges, riparian vegetation, sandy coasts and grassland (PFAF 2007; Weber 2003). The plant has also been reported as naturalised in Texas, however distribution information for this area was unavailable (Dave’s Garden 2007). As more distribution information comes to hand the species climatic range may change. | |||||
Potential distribution
Potential distribution produced from CLIMATE modelling refined by applying suitable landuse and vegetation type overlays with CMA boundaries
| Map Overlays Used Land Use: Broad vegetation types Colours indicate possibility of Lonicera morrowii infesting these areas. In the non-coloured areas the plant is unlikely to establish as the climate, soil or landuse is not presently suitable. | 
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Impact
QUESTION | COMMENTS | RATING | CONFIDENCE |
| Social |  | | |
| 1. Restrict human access? | Can from dense thickets (Richburg et al 2004). Therefore as a shrub species it is presumed significant works would be required to control the species to maintain access. | h | m |
| 2. Reduce tourism? | Ornamental species therefore could alter the aesthetics. | ml | l |
| 3. Injurious to people? | Fruits are reported to be toxic (PFAF 2007). As with the similar shrub honeysuckle L. maackii whose fruit are reported as also very bitter and around 30 would need to be eaten before problems occurred (Luken & Thieret 1995). | ml | m |
| 4. Damage to cultural sites? | Ornamental species therefore could alter the aesthetics. | ml | l |
| Abiotic | | | |
| 5. Impact flow? | Not reported in flowing water. | l | m |
| 6. Impact water quality? | Terrestrial species. | l | m |
| 7. Increase soil erosion? | The similar shrub honeysuckle L. maackii has been used for soil stabilisation, and some cultivars are still recommended (Luken & Thieret 1996). Therefore it is presumed that L. morrowii would have a low probability of allowing large-scale soil movement. | l | m |
| 8. Reduce biomass? | Reported to mostly invade open habitats and can create dense thickets (Richburg et al 2004; Weber 2003). Therefore biomass is presumed increased as a dense thicket is created where there was more open vegetation. | l | mh |
| 9. Change fire regime? | There is no specific evidence of the species impact on the fire regime of an area. However plots of this species have been reported not to carry a flame during the growing season (Richburg et al 2004). Therefore fire frequency may be altered and with alterations to the biomass of the vegetation when a fire does occur fire intensity may also be altered. | m | m |
| Community Habitat | | | |
| 10. Impact on composition (a) high value EVC | CLIMATE match unlikely. May grow within Victoria unlikely to naturalise. | l | m |
| (b) medium value EVC | CLIMATE match unlikely. May grow within Victoria unlikely to naturalise. | l | m |
| (c) low value EVC | CLIMATE match unlikely. May grow within Victoria unlikely to naturalise. | l | m |
| 11. Impact on structure? | Creates dense thickets and can shade out species of the lower strata (Richburg et al 2004). May also impact on canopy regeneration by shading out tree species seedlings. | mh | m |
| 12. Effect on threatened flora? | No specific evidence on threatened species. | mh | l |
| Fauna | | | |
| 13. Effect on threatened fauna? | No specific evidence on threatened species. | mh | l |
| 14. Effect on non-threatened fauna? | Alteration of habitat could have negative impacts on the fauna. | m | l |
| 15. Benefits fauna? | Produces poor quality fruit (Low in lipids) (Witmer & Van Soest 1998). However flowers and fruit are reported as attractive to wildlife (Dave’s Garden). | mh | mh |
| 16. Injurious to fauna? | None reported. | l | m |
| Pest Animal | | | |
| 17. Food source to pests? | Visited by bees (Dave’s Garden 2007). Fruits are eaten by birds and deer (Brown, Krasny & Schoch 2001; Weber 2003). | ml | mh |
| 18. Provides harbour? | Forms dense thickets that could be shelter for many different species, if only temporarily. No evidence of the species sheltering pest fauna. | m | l |
| Agriculture | | | |
| 19. Impact yield? | Not reported as an agricultural weed, may have some impact on forestry or apiculture, but there is no evidence of that. | l | m |
| 20. Impact quality? | Not reported as an agricultural weed. | l | m |
| 21. Affect land value? | Not reported as an agricultural weed. | l | m |
| 22. Change land use? | Not reported as an agricultural weed. | l | m |
| 23. Increase harvest costs? | Not reported as an agricultural weed. | l | m |
| 24. Disease host/vector? | Can be effected by aphids (Weber 1984). It’s unknown however if this then impacts on any commercial crops. | m | l |
Invasive
QUESTION | COMMENTS | RATING | CONFIDENCE |
| Establishment | | | |
| 1. Germination requirements? | Unknown however with L. maackii a similar shrub honeysuckle germination can occur year round (Luken & Thieret 1996). | h | m |
| 2. Establishment requirements? | Establishes best in more open areas (Weber 2003). Seedlings have been reported to be rarely observed in forests, however that still means that some are capable (Hunter & Mattice 2002). | mh | mh |
| 3. How much disturbance is required? | Can invade intact riparian vegetation (Weber 2003). | mh | mh |
| Growth/Competitive | | | |
| 4. Life form? | Shrub (Weber 2003). Therefore other. | l | mh |
| 5. Allelopathic properties? | No evidence has been reported for L. morrowii, however the similar shrub honeysuckle may be allelopathic as leaf extracts had a similar effect as a solution of juglone and known allelopathic chemical (Hartman & McCarthy 2004). | m | l |
| 6. Tolerates herb pressure? | If damaged, it will regrow quickly (Weber 2003). Unknown relationship with herbivores. | m | mh |
| 7. Normal growth rate? | Reported to grow vigorously (Weber 2003). Capable of dominating forest patches, reported with 100% cover (Hunter & Mattice 2002). | mh | mh |
| 8. Stress tolerance to frost, drought, w/logg, sal. etc? | Fire will kill seedlings (Weber 2003). Tolerant of temperatures as low as -37C (Dave’s Garden 2007). Unknown tolerance to drought, waterlogging or salinity. | m | m |
| Reproduction | | | |
| 9. Reproductive system | Produces fruits, which contain a few seeds (Weber 2003). | ml | mh |
| 10. Number of propagules produced? | Produces large quantities of fruit (Richburg et al 2004). Each fruit containing a few seeds (Weber 2003). Therefore presumed capable of producing 1000-2000 seeds and potentially 2000+. | mh | mh |
| 11. Propagule longevity? | After 15 months of dry storage only 86% of seeds remained viable, but less then 19% germinated, this is believed to be due the seeds re-entering into dormancy (Hidayati, Baskin & Baskin 2002). Seed longevity is unknown under natural conditions, however as the seeds are associated with a dormancy period they may remain viable for a longer period. | m | m |
| 12. Reproductive period? | Unknown however the reproductive period of the similar shrub honeysuckle L. maackii was calculated to potentially be more than 10 years. As it can live to 17 years and reaches maturity between 3 and 5 years (Deering & Vankat 1999; Luken & Thieret 1995). | h | m |
| 13. Time to reproductive maturity? | Unknown, however the time to maturity for the similar shrub honeysuckle L. maackii when grown from seed, is 3-5 years (Luken & Thieret 1995). | ml | m |
| Dispersal | | | |
| 14. Number of mechanisms? | It produces red fruit, which is dispersed by birds (Weber 2003). Seeds can also be dispersed by deer (Brown, Krasny & Schoch 2001). | h | mh |
| 15. How far do they disperse? | Approximate rate of spread for the similar shrub honeysuckle species L. maackii over a 34 year time span has been found to be 0.5 km per year, however with the plant not reaching maturity for 3-5 year dispersal distance may be further. (Hutchinson & Vankat 1998; Luken & Thieret 1995). Birds can disperse seeds more than 1km (Spennemann & Allen 2000). | h | m |
References
Brown W.T., Krasny M.E. & Schoch N., 2001, Volunteer monitoring of nonindenous invasive plant species in the Adirondack Park, New York, USA. Natural Areas Journal. 21: 189-196.
Dave’s Garden: Dave’s Garden “For Gardeners… By Gardeners”. viewed 5 Feb 2007, http://davesgarden.com/
Deering R.H. & Vankat J.L., 1999, Forest colonisation and developmental growth of the invasive shrub Lonicera maackii. The American Midland Naturalist. 141: 43-50.
Hartman K.M. & McCarthy B.C., 2004, Restoration of a forest understory after the removal of an invasive shrub, Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii). Restoration Ecology. 12: 154-165.
Hidayati S.N., Baskin J.M. & Baskin C.C., 2002, Effects of dry storage on germination and survivorship of seeds of four Lonicera species (Caprifoliaceae). Seed Science & Technology. 30: 137-148.
Hunter J.C. & Mattice J.A., 2002, The spread of woody exotics into the forests of a northeastern landscape, 1938-1999. Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society. 129: 220-227.
Hutchinson T.F. & Vankat J.L., 1998, Landscape structure and spread of the exotic shrub Lonicera maackii (Amur honeysuckle) in Southwestern Ohio Forests. The American Midland Naturalist. 139: 383-390.
Luken J.O. & Thieret J.W., 1996, Amur honeysuckle, its fall from grace. Bioscience. 46: 18-24.
Luken J.O. & Thieret J.W., 1995, Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii; Caprifoliaceae): Its Ascent, Decline and Fall. Sida. 16: 479-503
PFAF: Plants for a Future. Edible, medicinal and useful plants for a healthier world. viewed 5 Feb 2007, http://pfaf.org/
Richburg J.A., Patterson W.A. & Ohman M., 2004, Fire Management options for controlling woody invasive plants in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic U.S. Report submitted to the Joint Fire Science Program. Department of Natural Resources Conservation. University of Massachusetts.
Spennemann. D.H.R. & Allen. L.R., 2000, Feral olives (Oliea europaea) as future woody weeds in Australia: a review. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture. 40: 889-901.
Weber E. 2003, Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds, CABI Publishing, Wallingford.
Weber W.A., 1984, Aphid infestation on honeysuckle [Lonicera morrowii, Lonicera tatarica, Hyadaphis tataricae]. Green Thumb. 41: 22.
Witmer M.C. & Van Soest P.J., 1998, Contrasting digestive strategies of fruit-eating birds. Functional Ecology. 12: 728-741.
Global present distribution data references
Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) 2007, Global biodiversity information facility: Prototype data portal, viewed 16 Jan 2007, http://www.gbif.org/
Hunter J.C. & Mattice J.A., 2002, The spread of woody exotics into the forests of a northeastern landscape, 1938-1999. Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society. 129: 220-227.
Missouri Botanical Gardens (MBG) 2007, w3TROPICOS, Missouri Botanical Gardens Database, viewed 15 Jan 2007, http://mobot.mobot.org/W3T/Search/vast.html
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