Lonicera gracilipes
Miq.
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Description
Lonicera gracilipes is a deciduous Shrub growing to 1.8 m (6ft). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 6. It is in flower in May. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Insects. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil.
Edible Uses
Fruit - raw. It should be eaten with caution because is possibly cathartic and emetic. The fruit is about 10mm in diameter.
Medicinal Uses
Cathartic Emetic. Cathartic, emetic.
Distribution
E. Asia - Japan.
Where It Grows
TEMPERATE ASIA: Japan (Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku)
Cultivation
Grows best in a good moist soil in a sunny position, it does not fruit so well in the shade.
Propagation
Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. Stored seed requires 2 months cold stratification and should be sown as soon as possible in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 7 - 10cm with or without a heel, July/August in a frame. Good percentage. Cuttings of mature wood of the current season's growth, 15 - 20cm with or without a heel, November in a cold frame. Good percentage. Layering in autumn.
