05/13/2026
🌿JAPANESE HONEYSUCKLE:
An aggressive invasive and an Ancient prized herbal medicine 🌿
Japanese honeysuckle, Lonicera japonica, is more than a sweet-smelling vine. In Chinese medicine, the flower buds are called Jīn Yín Huā, or “gold silver flower,” 💛🤍 and they are traditionally used to clear heat, cool inflammation, and support the body through hot, red, irritated conditions. 🔥
I use honeysuckle most often when something feels hot, swollen, inflamed, scratchy, or viral — sore throats, swollen glands, feverish feelings, hot skin eruptions, or that “heat rising” feeling in the body. 🥵🤧
The flowers and unopened buds are the most prized part, but the leaves and tender vines have use too, so you don’t have to pick every flower perfectly. You can make honeysuckle into tea, tincture, infused honey, or dry it for winter use. 🫖
Japanese honeysuckle is invasive and naturalized through much of the U.S., so when it’s growing abundantly, we can harvest it freely and put that invasive energy to good use. ✨️
As always, be sure of your ID, avoid the berries, and harvest from clean areas.
Have you ever made honeysuckle tea or tincture?
