Coral honeysuckle is an excellent vine for attracting hummingbirds and keeping them fed until they migrate. I have noticed the berries produced by the vine are taken by mockingbirds and cardinals.

Planted in with my honeysuckle are corkystem passionflowers (Passiflora suberosa). This passionflower is host to gulf fritillary and zebra longwing caterpillars and becomes ratty-looking within weeks in the spring. Planting the passionflower with the honeysuckle keeps the tattered plant unnoticed except by the butterflies.

Linnaeus named the genus in honor of Adam Lonitzer, a German physician during the 16th Century. As was typical for the times, Lonitzer latinized his name to Lonicerus after graduating with his M.D. in 1554 from the University of Marburg.

Shortly after graduating, Lonicerus became the municipal physician for the city of Frankfurt. During his tenure in public health, he wrote the first known record of the use of ergot by midwives as an ecbolic (hastens childbirth). (See Herbal Folklore, September 10, 2001) The use of ergot was extremely dangerous; the dosages were a 'best guess' on the part of midwives and frequently led to the death of the baby, mother, or both.

Lonicerus is credited for some of the first public health policies aimed at regulating midwives and controlling the spread of the bubonic plague.