Korea Flora: Deciduous shrub. Height 3m. The pith of young branches solid, and young branches 2-4 distinct angles. Leaves broadly lanceolate, with an acuminate apex and a broad base. leaf size 3-5(8)cm × 2-3.5(4)cm, with smooth margins and hair. The underside grayish-blue, and white hairs abundant on the main vein even in autumn. Petiole 4-5mm long. Flowers in the leaf axils of new branches. Flower stalks 10-15mm long, usually attached along the back of the leaf. Bracts 1-3mm long, bracteoles 0.5mm long and fused. Corolla deep purple-red, 5-10mm long, with the corolla tube shorter than the petals and broad at the base.

Fruit and seeds: The ovary is fused above the middle, and the style is hairy. The fruit is ovoid to spherical and red.

Flowering period: Late May to mid-June

Fruiting period: Late August to mid-September

Distribution: Northeastern China, Far Eastern Russia, Hokkaido, Japan; North and South Pyongan, North and South Hamgyong, Gangwon, North Jeolla, North Gyeongsang provinces, etc., along the Baekdudaegan mountain range.

 

Taxonomic notes: Lonicera maximowiczii (Red Honeysuckle) is sometimes misidentified as Lonicera chrysantha due to its long flower stalks and developed winter buds. However, it can be easily distinguished by its red flowers (L. chrysantha has white or yellow flowers), fused fruits, solid branch pith, numerous fine teeth-like hairs on leaf margins, and shorter petioles (4-5mm, compared to 6-8mm in L. chrysantha).

In the Far Eastern Russian tree guide (Koropachinskiy and Vstovskaya, 2002), specimens from Japan and Sakhalin are classified as L. sachalinensis (F. Schmidt) Nakai, while those from Far Eastern Russia, China, and Korea are classified as L. maximowiczii. On the other hand, Hara (1983) treats the former as L. maximowiczii var. sachalinensis F. Schmidt. Additionally, Hara classifies Korean Peninsula specimens of L. maximowiczii as L. maximowiczii var. latifolia (Ohwi) H. Hara. These taxonomic treatments are based on highly variable characteristics such as the presence or absence of hairs on the underside of leaves, differences in leaf size, and the presence or absence of glands. Hara himself acknowledges significant differences between northern and southern Korean Peninsula specimens of var. latifolia. In this study, all of these are considered synonyms and treated as a single species.