High-climbing, twining vine, 3-20 ft. long, with smooth, glossy, paired, semi-evergreen leaves and 2-4 flowered clusters of red, tubular blooms followed by bright-red berries.

Leaves ovate to oblong with smooth, rolled-down margins and a blunt or short pointed tip those immediately below the flowers fused at the base. This vine has showy, trumpet-shaped flowers, red outside, yellow inside, in several whorled clusters at the ends of the stems. Papery, exfoliating bark is orange-brown in color. Fruit a red berry. This beautiful, slender, climbing vine is frequently visited by hummingbirds. Not too aggressive. Good climber or ground cover.

The species name refers to its evergreen habit, especially in the South. Upper leaves are united. Five additional species also have upper leaves united. They differ from L. sempervirens in having wide spreading flower lobes. The genus, Lonicera, is named for Adam Lonicer (1528 - 1586), a German botanist noted for his 1557 revised version of Eucharius Rösslin’s herbal. He became professor of Mathematics in 1553 and Doctor of Medicine in 1554, becoming the town physician in Frankfurt-am-Main. His true interest though was herbs and the study of botany.

Source: Lonicera sempervirens (Coral honeysuckle) | Native Plants of North America (wildflower.org)