Lonicera utahensis aka Utah Honeysuckle

Lonicera utahensis, or Utah honeysuckle, is a deciduous shrub. It belongs to the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae. Its native range spans western Canada and the western and west-central United States. It grows on moist mountain slopes, in woods and open ground. These sites lie at middle to high elevations. The species comes from temperate regions and is not native to Britain or Ireland.

This upright shrub forms clumps with slim branches. Sources give a height of 5–6 feet [1.5–1.8 metres]. Its bark is reddish grey, marked with pale lenticels. The thin twigs share that colour and have clear lengthwise lines. Their pith is solid, and their buds are small and pointed. Leaves grow in opposite pairs along the stems. Each simple leaf has an oval or egg-shaped outline. The upper face is bright green, while the underside is paler. Most of the leaf is smooth, though hairs edge the margins. A few hairs may also occur beneath the leaf.

Pale yellow to white flowers hang in pairs on stalks. Each bloom has five lobes and a bell or funnel shape. PFAF gives April to May as the flowering season. Virginia Tech describes a broader span from spring into early summer. Insects pollinate the flowers. Reddish-orange berries ripen from the middle to the end of summer. The paired fruits spread apart from each other. They are longer than wide and may taper to a point.

For garden growth, PFAF favours moist soil and a sunny site. It lists sandy, loamy and clay soils as suitable. The plant tolerates mildly acid, neutral and mildly alkaline ground. Shade guidance is less clear within that source. It lists dappled shade as a landscape setting, yet also rejects shade. It further notes that shade reduces fruiting. A sunny woodland edge fits its stated growing needs. PFAF gives USDA zones 4–8. Growers can raise it from seed, cuttings or autumn layering. Stored seed needs two months of cold treatment before sowing.

PFAF records the fruit as edible, either fresh or cooked. Its food-use rating is low, at one out of five. The source reports no known hazards, but provides no pet-safety assessment. It also records past medicinal uses of branches and leaves. These include a mild laxative and a wash for sores. Such records do not establish safe or effective home treatments. The supplied sources give no specific pest or disease concerns. PFAF does not flag the species as weedy.