''Lonicera'' × ''bella'', known as Bell's honeysuckle and showy fly honeysuckle, is a

hybrid species Hybrid speciation is a form of speciation where hybridization between two different species leads to a new species, reproductively isolated from the parent species. Previously, reproductive isolation between two species and their parents was tho ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the family

Caprifoliaceae The Caprifoliaceae or honeysuckle family is a clade of dicotyledonous flowering plants consisting of about 860 species, in 33, to 42 genera, with a nearly cosmopolitan distribution. Centres of diversity are found in eastern North America and ea ...

. It was first described by

Hermann Zabel Hermann Zabel (22 September 1832, Neu-Katzow – 26 April 1912, Gotha) was a German botanist who specialized in the field of dendrology. From 1854 to 1860 he was employed as an assistant at the botanical garden and museum in Greifswald. From 1869 ...

in 1889. Zabel reported that he grew it in cultivation from seeds obtained from a plant of ''

Lonicera morrowii ''Lonicera morrowii'', the Morrow's honeysuckle, is a deciduous honeysuckle in the family Caprifoliaceae, native to Japan, Korea, and Northeast China. It is a shrub, reaching a height of 2–2.5 m, with oblong leaves 4–6 cm long. I ...

'', but that its appearance suggested the influence of '' L. tatarica''. It has escaped from cultivation and become an aggressive invasive species in central and eastern parts of the United States.

Description

''Lonicera'' × ''bella'' is an artificial hybrid between '' L. morrowii'' and '' L. tatarica''. In appearance it is intermediate between the two parents. It is a

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

, potentially reaching in height. The young stems are hollow and weakly

pubescent The adjective pubescent may describe: * people or animals undergoing puberty * plants that are hairy, covered in trichomes * insects that are covered in setae In biology, setae (singular seta ; from the Latin word for "bristle") are any of a ...

. The oppositely arranged leaves are oval, untoothed and between in length, slightly pubescent underneath. Paired flowers appear in the leaf axils in late Spring or early Summer (May to June in North America). They are usually some shade of pink, but vary in colour, often tending to turn yellow as they age. The fruits are red

berries A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...

Identification

The hybrid can back-cross with the parent species, producing continuous variation between the two, creating a "hybrid swarm" and making identification difficult. The parents and the hybrid can hybridize with several other species of "bush honeysuckle", complicating identification still further. In 1966, Green provided a key to the bush honeysuckles found in the

Arnold Arboretum The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University is a botanical research institution and free public park, located in the Jamaica Plain and Roslindale neighborhoods of Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1872, it is the oldest public arboretum in N ...

. He suggested that critical features of ''L.'' x ''bella'' were: * plant more-or-less hairy, especially on the leaves,

pedicels In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence. Such inflorescences are described as ''pedicellate''. Description Pedicel refers to a structure connecting a single flower to its inflorescence. In the absenc ...

, and

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

s * leaves broadest at or below the middle, usually with an obtuse (blunt) rather than acuminate (sharply pointed) tip * bracts usually as long as or longer than the ovary * flower long from the base of the tube to the tip of the upper lobes. As an indication of the difficulty of identification, it was reported in 1974 that 39 of the 44 identified specimens of ''L.'' × ''bella'' in the University of Wisconsin Arboretum were originally labelled as one or the other of the parents. Barnes and Cottam wrote that "references to the literature should be interpreted with the constraint in mind that there may be considerable confusion in the identification of the taxa involved."

Taxonomy

''Lonicera'' × ''bella'' was first described by

in 1889. Zabel reported that he grew it from seeds obtained from a plant of ''

'', but that its appearance suggested the influence of '' L. tatarica''. Zabel described some variations under Latin names: *''candida'': white flowers, buds with a greenish touch *''albida'': flowers white, buds with a reddish touch *''incarnata'': pink flowers, usually with lighter margins *''atrorosea'': dark pink flowers, usually with lighter margins The triple hybrid between ''Lonicera'' × ''bella'' and '' L. ruprechtiana'' is called ''L.'' × ''muendeniensis''.

Invasiveness

The parents are from discontinuous areas of Asia: ''L. morrowii'' is native to South Korea and Japan, ''L. tatarica'' occurs from eastern Europe to Central Siberia and north-west China. These areas have very different climates: ''L. morrowii'' occurring in moister, maritime environments, ''L. tatarica'' in drier, colder ones. The hybrid has escaped from cultivation and is naturalized in central and eastern North America, where it grows in a variety of ecological conditions, wider than either parent, but often favouring disturbed habitats. ''Lonicera'' × ''bella'' exhibits a considerable degree of

heterosis Heterosis, hybrid vigor, or outbreeding enhancement is the improved or increased function of any biological quality in a hybrid offspring. An offspring is heterotic if its traits are enhanced as a result of mixing the genetic contributions of ...

(hybrid vigour) and has become an aggressive invasive species in parts of the United States. It is reported to be invasive in US National Parks in

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. File:Lonicera × bella UGA-5453400.jpg, Naturalized in the US File:Lonicera × bella UGA-5473421.jpg, White flowers File:Lonicera × bella UGA-5473214.jpg, Paler pink flowers File:Lonicera × bella UGA-5453387 crop.jpg, Darker pink flowers File:Lonicera × bella UGA-5453335.jpg, Berries File:Lonicera morrowii, ×bella, tatarica UGA-5479294.jpg, Comparison between (left to right) ''L. morrowii'', one form of ''L.'' × ''bella'', and ''L. tatarica''

References

bella Bella is a feminine given name. It is a diminutive form of names ending in -bella. ''Bella'' is related to the Italian, Spanish, Greek, Portuguese and Latin words for beautiful, to the name Belle, meaning ''beautiful'' in French. It increased in ...

Plants described in 1889 Plant nothospecies {{DEFAULTSORT:Lonicera bella