Are You Even Oklahoman If You’ve Never Sucked This Plant?

I can remember being nearly 10 years old, walking behind the apartments where my family lived in central Lawton. As we followed the alleyway, lined with lucious greenery, our Aunt Nancy asked us "hey, look! There's some honeysuckle, do you guys want some?" After trying the plant for the first time, I realized like any other native Oklahoman, just how sweet nature makes these vibrant delicacies.

According to nature.org, "Japanese honeysuckle is a common vine around Oklahoma because it is easy to grow, heat-tolerant, and nearly indestructible. In addition, the attractive and fragrant flowers attract hummingbirds, butterflies and other pollinators." Admittedly, honeysuckle is so easy to grow that it is considered an invasive species of plant here in Oklahoma, constricting and cutting off other native species of shrubs and trees. However, Japanese honeysuckle isn't the only kind around.

Some types of honeysuckle, however, can be both useful and beautiful for some areas, like the commonly seen coral honeysuckle, also known as "evergreen honeysuckle, trumpet honeysuckle, woodbine, scarlet trumpet, red honeysuckle, and red woodbine." Some gardners throughout North America love to have these plants around to draw other wildlife like hummingbirds, bees and more with the deliciously sweet nectar they produce.

When you try honeysuckle, you're not really eating the plant itself - you're looking for the few drops of nectar in the bulb. The leaves can be eaten after being boiled, but after pulling center stem from the bottom of the base plant, you'll see the sweet stuff you're looking for. To give you a better visual, here's an example of how to take the plant apart.

While enjoying the great outdoors, take a look around and see what nature has to offer. Honeysuckle can be found climbing up structures, stemming from native herbaceous plants. Take a look at a map, provided by Oklahoma State University, showing the current areas that you'll find the most japanese honeysuckle in the state here.