Leycesteria formosa
Environmental Weed (2024)
Common names
Himalayan honeysuckle
Biostatus
Exotic
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Flower colours
White
Detailed description
Shrub to 2m high; stems hollow, glabrous, green, glaucous at first. Petiole .5~2cm long, purplish, with hairy groove on upper side. Lamina 4~14 x 1.5~8cm, ovate or broad-ovate, mostly entire, sometimes 5~9-lobed with rounded sinuses, becoming glabrous except for midrib and bases of main veins; base rounded to cordate; apex long-acuminate. Infl. 3~8cm long at flowering. Bracts mostly 1~3cm long, sessile, broad-ovate, aristate-acuminate, generally glandular-hairy, usu. deep reddish-purple. Calyx small, hidden by bracts; lobes very unequal. Corolla approx. 1.5cm long, funnelform, white; lobes rounded at apex, much < tube, with glandular-hairy margins. Stamens shortly exserted. Style > stamens. Berry 7~10mm diam., subglobose, dark brownish-purple, glandular-hairy. Seed 1.1~1.5mm long, obovoid-ellipsoid, shining brown, minutely white-dotted. (- Webb et. al., 1988)
Similar taxa
An evergreen shrub 2 - 3 metres tall (Hilgendorf 1926; Department of Conservation 1996). The plant has green hollow stems (Hilgendorf 1926; Department of Conservation 1996). The leaves occur opposite each other on the branches (Hilgendorf 1926). The leaves are 8 cm long (up to 24cm long (Department of Conservation 1996)), broad at the base and pointed at the tip (Hilgendorf 1926). The flowers are white and pink in drooping spikes (Hilgendorf 1926). The flowers are enclosed within pairs of purplish leaves (Hilgendorf 1926). The red-purple bracts which surround the small flowers are a conspicuous distinguishing feature of this plant (Veitch 1995; Department of Conservation 1996). The fruit is black brownish purple and is 7 - 10 mm in diameter (Veitch 1995; Department of Conservation 1996).
Habitat
Terrestrial. A plant of coastal and lowland habitats (Timmins & MacKenzie 1995). The plant occurs in streams and favours damper habitats (Veitch 1995; Department of Conservation 1996). A plant of streams, shrublands, light gaps in forests (such as windfall gaps), roadsides, exotic plantations, farm hedges and wasteland habitats (Veitch 1995; Department of Conservation 1996). A plant of scrub and forest margin, shrubland and riverbed communities (Timmins & MacKenzie 1995).
Conservation status
Not applicable
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Ecology
Flowering
December, January, February, March, April, May.
Year naturalised
1878
Origin
temp Himalayan
Reason for introduction
Ornamental
Tolerances
The plant is shade intolerant.
Life cycle and dispersal
Perennial. Abundant seed produced (Timmins & MacKenzie 1995; Veitch 1995, Department of Conservation 1996). Water and birds disperse seed (Veitch 1995; Department of Conservation 1996).
Wetland plant indicator status rating
Information derived from the revised national wetland plant list prepared to assist councils in delineating and monitoring wetlands (Clarkson et al., 2021 Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research Contract Report LC3975 for Hawke’s Bay Regional Council). The national plant list categorises plants by the extent to which they are found in wetlands and not ‘drylands’. The indicator status ratings are OBL (obligate wetland), FACW (facultative wetland), FAC (facultative), FACU (facultative upland), and UPL (obligate upland). If you have suggestions for the Wetland Indicator Status Rating, please contact: [Enable JavaScript to view protected content]
FACU: Facultative Upland
Occasionally is a hydrophyte but usually occurs in uplands (non-wetlands).
Other information
Environmental Weed (2024)
This plant is named in a list of 386 environmental weeds in New Zealand 2024 prepared by DOC. 759 candidate species were considered for inclusion on this new comprehensive list of environmental weeds in New Zealand. The species considered were drawn from published lists of weed species, lists of plants that must be reported or managed by law if observed, existing national and regional programmes and agreements for pest management, and species already managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC). Candidate species were then assessed to see if they were fully naturalised and whether they have more than minor impacts in natural ecosystems. Read the full report here.
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
LEYFOR