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How to Eat a Honeysuckle

Honeysuckle has a beautiful aroma when in bloom. With a smell almost as good as honey tastes, there is no wonder how it got its name, and no surprise that someone figured out that you could eat it. The flowers have a sweet nectar that is delicious, but that is the only part of the plant you should eat. The berries are poisonous. Try it for yourself.

Select a bloom from a honeysuckle bush and pull it off the stem. Make sure that you get the entire bloom all the way down to the point where it is connected or you might spill the nectar.

  • Honeysuckle has a beautiful aroma when in bloom.
  • The flowers have a sweet nectar that is delicious, but that is the only part of the plant you should eat.

Make sure the bloom is not too far from your mouth and pinch the bottom tip of the bloom to pull out the stamen. This is a small stem that runs through the bloom. As you pull it out it will bring with it the nectar from the middle of the bloom.

Lick the drop of nectar off of the stem to enjoy the sweet taste of a honeysuckle. The leaves are edible as well, although most don't eat them.

Honeysuckle Facts

Honeysuckle is the general, common name for about 200 species of deciduous, semi-evergreen flowering vines and shrubs. Two of the most widely recognized species of honeysuckle include Lonicera periclymenum, better known as common honeysuckle, and Lonicera japonica, called Japanese Honeysuckle. Common honeysuckle, usually found in Europe, is known to climb up to 32 feet high, has white and yellowish colored flowers and sprouts red berries. In summer months, watering and mulching is essential to preserving the roots and discouraging aphids from attacking the plant. In addition to being used as a cut flower in bouquets, baskets and potpourri, honeysuckle has long been associated with superstition. It was also thought to cause pleasant dreams and enhance mood when placed under a pillow. Both William Shakespeare and Geoffrey Chaucer refer to the honeysuckle plant in “Twelfth Night,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “The Canterbury Tales.”

  • Make sure the bloom is not too far from your mouth and pinch the bottom tip of the bloom to pull out the stamen.
  • In summer months, watering and mulching is essential to preserving the roots and discouraging aphids from attacking the plant.

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