Northern Bush-honeysuckle

Diervilla lonicera

Pollinator Value

🐛 Larval Host: Hemaris diffinis, Sphinx kalmiae, Harrisimemna trisignata
S13+S15 3 verified Eastern NA

Proximity Score: 0
Native Status: ✅ Outaouais ✅ Ottawa ✅ QC ✅ ON
Closest Direction: Local
CEC Eco-Regions: 5 – Northern Forests, 5.2 – Mixed Wood Shield, 5.2.3 – Algonquin/Southern Laurentians
Rarity Notes: Globally secure (G5) with national rank N5 in Canada. Ranked S5 in both Ontario and Quebec. Not listed under SARA or COSEWIC. Widespread across the boreal-mixed wood transition from Newfoundland to Saskatchewan.
S22+S26+S1
Rarity Ranks: QC S5 – Secure, ON S5 – Secure
Migration: Stable
Ecological Context: Northern bush-honeysuckle is a characteristic understorey shrub of dry, rocky forests on sandy or acidic substrates across the mixed-wood shield. In the Outaouais it colonises thin-soiled ridges, gravelly railway embankments, and oak-pine woodlands, often following disturbance [S7+S63]. Listed as Common on both sides of the Ottawa River [S63+S62]. Its suckering habit stabilises shallow soils on Canadian Shield outcrops.
S63+S62+S7+S29

Roles: Fire Retardant, Fortress/Barrier, Pollinator Attractor
S73/S29/S72 Evidence: Fire Retardant: S73 [MEDIUM]: S11 Fire Tolerance = High (not definitional)] | Fortress/Barrier: S61 keyword match: thorns? (supporting signal only)] | Pollinator Attractor: S73 [MEDIUM]: S68 18 bee associations (threshold=3)]
Notes: The stoloniferous, suckering habit makes this species useful for soil stabilization on banks and slopes. It functions well as understorey infill beneath oaks and pines in dry woodland guilds, providing ground-holding and pollinator support without competing aggressively for light or moisture [S29+S7].
S29+S7

Category: Diuretic, Analgesic, Laxative, Ophthalmic, Galactogogue, Urinary Aid, Venereal Aid, Blood Medicine, Gastrointestinal Aid
S28+S29
Notes: Extensively used by Indigenous peoples across northeastern North America. The Algonquin used leaves as a diuretic; Chippewa took compound leaf decoctions for stomach pain and used bark infusions as eyewash and laxative; Cree applied root infusions as eyewash and galactogogue; Iroquois used root decoctions as blood medicine and urinary aid; Menominee, Meskwaki, Ojibwa, and Potawatomi all employed root preparations primarily as diuretics and urinary remedies. PFAF notes a narcotic principle in leaves that may induce nausea.
S28+S29

❌ Not Edible

Foraging Notes: No edible uses documented. PFAF assigns an edibility rating of 0 out of 5. USDA rates human palatability as None. Moerman records 22 ethnobotanical uses, all medicinal with no food category entries.
S29+S11+S28