Lonicera ligustrina

Lonicera ligustrina (女贞叶忍冬, nü zhen ye ren dong), the privet-like honeysuckle,^[3] is a species of honeysuckle found in the central and eastern Himalayas of Bhutan, India, Nepal, and in southern and central China.^[2] It grows as an evergreen, semi-evergreen, or deciduous shrub approximately 1.5-2.5 meters in height, with leathery or paper-like leaves 0.4-8 × 0.2-1.5 cm in size.

Lonicera ligustrina
Lonicera ligustrina var. yunnanensis Franch.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Dipsacales
Family:	Caprifoliaceae
Genus:	Lonicera
Species:	L. ligustrina
Binomial name
Lonicera ligustrina Wall. (1824)[1]
Varieties[2]
Lonicera ligustrina var. ligustrina Lonicera ligustrina var. pileata (Oliv.) Franch. Lonicera ligustrina var. yunnanensis Franch.
Synonyms[2]
Xylosteon ligustrinum (Wall.) D.Don (1825)

Varieties

Three varieties are accepted.^[2]

• Lonicera ligustrina var. ligustrina (synonyms Lonicera buxifolia H.Lév., Lonicera missionis H.Lév., Lonicera virgultorum W.W.Sm., and Lonicera wightiana Wall.) – central and eastern Himalayas and southern China.^[4]
• Lonicera ligustrina var. pileata (Oliv.) Franch. (synonym Lonicera pileata Oliv.) – central and southern China^[5]
• Lonicera ligustrina var. yunnanensis Franch. (synonym Lonicera nitida E.H.Wilson) – central China.^[6] The cultivar 'Baggesen's Gold' has received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.^[7]