The native bush
honeysuckle comes in three nearly indistinguishable species, northern bush
honeysuckle, Diervilla lonicera,
southern bush honeysuckle D. sessilifolia,
and mountain bush honeysuckle, D. rivularis,
which are probably more interchangeable in the landscape than different
cultivars of some species. There are
some invasive exotic species also called bush honeysuckle in the genus Lonicera, but these have
fruiting bodies that are berries rather than capsules as in Diervilla. The keys to separate the native bush
honeysuckles are round stems on D.
lonicera, square stems on the others, and dense pubescence on D. rivularis only. The major similarities are deciduous opposite
leaves, terminal panicles of yellow flowers, and a size up to about 6 feet high
and wide, which may increase gradually due to colonial propagation. The first place I ever saw one was along the
bank of Pond Creek next to a small water fall and pool just upstream of a larger
waterfall. Other vegetation on the
stream banks and in cracks of the rocks included
