A twining vine climbing 10 m or more into trees. Opposite simple oval leaves 3–8 cm long; young stems slightly red and fuzzy, old stems brown with peeling bark and often hollow. Paired two-lipped flowers in the leaf axils open white and fade to yellow, so white and yellow hang together on one stem, which gives the Chinese name gold-and-silver flower; sweetly vanilla-scented. It keeps leaves through winter, hence the other Chinese name enduring winter. Black spherical berries 3–4 mm across in autumn.
Habitat
Hillside scrub, forest edge, roadside hedges and gardens, hardy and drought-tolerant, invasive where introduced; a traditional medicine in China.
Distribution
Native to East Asia, including much of China, Japan and Korea; introduced worldwide as an ornamental and invasive in North America and elsewhere. Very common in China and Japan; not native to Singapore.
Season and behaviour
Peak bloom from April to June, continuing into late summer in warm places; the scent is strongest at dusk, and each flower turns from white to yellow over two or three days.
Photography tips
These are the FilmAnalysis editors' notes, not content from the sources.
White and yellow on one stem is the point: take a length of vine with new and old flowers, with side backlight through the slender petals and a dark background. The long stamens need a smaller aperture for macro. Dew at dawn and scent at dusk both come with soft light.
Photographic styles
Slender petals in white and yellow; small rural scenes of hedge vines.
Similar species
Other climbing honeysuckles (single-coloured flowers); Lonicera confusa and L. macranthoides (the medicinal shan yin hua, denser and hairier flowers).
Related badge
None yet. No validated photo recognition exists for this species, so no badge is tied to it: a name in the encyclopedia is not evidence in a photograph.
The illustration is original FilmAnalysis artwork. No photographs yet: only photos cleared for commercial use with credit will be added.
Why it is listed: this species comes from the Flower checklist (GBIF backbone and Wikidata verified). Names follow the GBIF backbone and Wikidata; the facts follow the sources below; photo recognition is not offered.
