I’m always charmed to see this pretty Honeysuckle blooming when I’m out on a hike. The 3-4" cluster of pink flowers are so cheery at a time when a lot of California natives are just waiting out the dry season. Blooming through Summer, the flowers are much appreciated by hummingbirds. Later followed by 1/4” jewel-like red berries, also savored by birds. The berries are also edible to humans too, but tend to be bitter. L. hispidula grows as a climbing deciduous vine to 6’ tall and wide with softly hairy blue-green leaves that occasionally fuse to form a funny oval leaf that the stem grows through the middle of. Found in oak woodlands from California through Washington, L. hispidula is drought and clay tolerant. The hollow stems of mature branches were used by the Pomo tribe as smoking pipes.