Native Plants

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

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Thursday - April 04, 2013

From: Akron, OH
Region: Mid-Atlantic
Topic: Non-Natives, Plant Identification
Title: Identity of plant at funeral that smells similar to honeysuckle
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

What plant or flower smells similar to honeysuckle? I live in Ohio and I smelled some kind of flower or plant at a friends funeral last spring that smelled similar to honeysuckle. It wasn't honeysuckle but it smelled kinda like Honeysuckle. I could not smell each of the flowers to find out which one it was, so I don't know what it looked like. It did not have that typical, rosy, floral, funeral flower smell to it at all. But it must have been a flower or plant that a local florist used in their flower arrangement. I smelled a few honeysuckle plants and they were not the same smell so I'm sure it's some other flower or plant that smells similar yet different. Thanks for reading my question.

ANSWER:

First of all, our focus and expertise at the Wildflower Center are with plants native to North America. It would be very unusual for the florist who provided the arrangements for the funeral you attended to use native plants in the floral tribute to your friend; therefore, we aren't really the people who can answer your question. Secondly, without a description of the plant that produced the fragrance, it is virtually an impossible mystery to solve from afar. However, I do have some suggestions to help you learn what flowers smelled like honeysuckle.