Such a lovely thing, such delicate flowers; and the smell: honeysuckle sweet. Ooh la la.
But don't be fooled! The creeping vine, Lonicera japonica, a.k.a. Japanese honeysuckle, is a highly invasive alien to many parts of the world, including mine. Native to east Asia, in Japan it's known as Suikazura, in China: jīn yín huā where it is prized for its medicinal qualities, its antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.
But in other countries—Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, New Zealand, the United States including Hawaii and many Pacific and Caribbean islands—L. japonica has become naturalized and is slowly taking over large tracts of land, displacing native plants. And like kudzu, it is virtually impossible to eradicate.
New Zealand has classified it as an "unwanted organism." Shoot to kill.
In my country, it's absolutely banned in the state of New Hampshire. How they enforce this, I do not know. Border check points?
With each passing year, L. japonica is inching towards me from the vacant field to my east. I've set up breastworks around my home and I'm dug in, armed with a tempered steel Jamaican machete (the Rambo model with mother-of-pearl handle) and 25 gallons of industrial grade kerosene, military blend. So I'm ready to take it on mano-a-mano, or rather, mano-a-planto.
Should these posts from the front sudden stop, send reinforcements.
Over and out.
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