Botanical atlas

Honeysuckle

Lonicera periclymenum

Woodbine has climbed the hedgerows and cottage garden trellises of Europe for centuries, prized as much for its heady evening perfume as for its old country remedies. Village herbalists gathered the trumpet-shaped blossoms to steep into soothing syrups and cordials meant to comfort a scratchy throat or a nagging cough through the cold months. The flowers were also worked into gentle washes said to calm and freshen the skin. Its cousin from East Asia, Lonicera japonica, became the more famous medicinal honeysuckle in traditional Chinese medicine, but the European woodbine kept its own quiet place in folk kitchens and still rooms.

Safety.

The berries are toxic and can cause vomiting and diarrhea if eaten, so keep them away from children and pets. Only the flowers have a history of culinary use, in modest amounts, and are best avoided in pregnancy.