Away with the Fairies...

... at the bottom of our garden. We have had our plant detective hats on today, identifying a Mysterious Woody Shrub at the very back of our medicinal garden. We'd all thought it was some sort of box hedge but a chance sighting of some small purple berries made us think again.

The internet is brilliant for this sort of thing - particularly developing the lateral thinking skills needed to keep the results search in the hundreds rather than the thousands! So after experimenting with a few keywords we've finally got it, and what do you know, it's a form of honeysuckle, Lonicera pileata. Not too much embarrassment all round though as its common name is Box-leaved Honeysuckle so we weren't the first with this mistaken identity.

Step two is to discover what, if any, are its medicinal properties. Honeysuckles are members of the family Caprifoliaceae which makes them sound like they should be from Sicily. But in fact they are to be found all over the Northern hemisphere. The Japanese honeysuckle, Lonicera Japonica, is widely used in Chinese medicine and is mentioned by John Gerard, a master herbalist of the sixteenth century, who said that honeysuckle's "floures, be steeped in oile, and set in the Sun, are good to annoint the body that is bennumed, and growne very cold." In general there is a belief that Lonicera Japonica can be applied, in the form of a poultice, to treat skin infections; drunk in the form of leaf infusion, to assist asthmatics and soothe coughs; even the seeds have diuertic effects.

Sadly there seems to be no similar indications of efficacy for our poor Box-Leaved Honeysuckle, despite its Chinese origins. Mostly it is recommended as a simple and elegant groundcover. Cue more research ... surely we can find a greater purpose for our thriving specimen?

Photograph courtsey of www.paghat.com