Panarctic Flora

880102 Lonicera caerulea L.

• L., Sp. Pl.: 174 (1753). Described from Switzerland. Type not designated (Jarvis 2007: 640).

2n= (1) 18 (2x). - Siberia (SE), Asia (C), Far East (S). - Four counts cited by Skvortsov (1986).
(2) 36 (4x). - Europe (C, E), Caucasus, Siberia (S, N), Asia (C), Far East (S, N). - 51 counts cited by Skvortsov (1986).

Geography: European - Asian: ICE** RUS SIB.

Notes: There are several conflicting treatments of the northern Eurasian variation in Lonicera caerulea. Browicz (1976) accepted two largely sympatric races for northeastern European Russia and northwestern Siberia: subsp. caerulea (including "altaica") and subsp. pallasii. Skvortsov (1986) did not recognize any races among the northern Eurasian plants. Gladkova (1987) considered subsp. caerulea to be confined to non-arctic parts of Europe, whereas she divided the northern Eurasian material on subsp. altaica and subsp. pallasii. Hultén and Fries (1986) followed the same approach for the European parts, i.e., subsp. caerulea as non-arctic European, but they treated the northern variation differently with two subspecies (subsp. pallasii and subsp. iliensis) recognized in the western parts and one (subsp. edulis) in the eastern parts. Nedolushko (1987) divided the Russian Far East plants on L. caerulea (reaching the Arctic) and L. edulis Turcz. ex Freyn (not reaching the Arctic). Kurbatskij (1996a) accepted three species for Siberia: L. altaica Pall. ex DC. in western and central Siberia and possibly reaching the Arctic in northwestern Siberia, L. pallasii Ledeb. in the same general areas, and L. edulis in non-arctic parts of eastern Siberia. He did not accept L. caerulea s. str. from Siberia. For the Checklist we follow Gladkova (1987, PAF proposal).

Recently (2010), L. caerulea has been found in Siglufjördur in the arctic parts of Iceland, dispersed by seeds from gardens. The plants were vegetative and subspecies has not been identified.