The difference between honeysuckle and Gelsemium elegans

What is Gelsemium elegans?

Gelsemium elegans is also known as Gelsemium elegans, big tea medicine, cannon leaf, etc.

Highly toxic. It is forbidden to take it internally. If it is accidentally taken, the intestines will become black and sticky, and the patient will die from abdominal pain.

The difference between honeysuckle and Gelsemium elegans

The shape of the branches and leaves

The branches and leaves of Gelsemium elegans are generally large, and the leaves are oval-shaped and oblong. The branches and leaves of honeysuckle are thinner and softer, and the branches are often covered with fine white hairs.

The texture of the leaves is different

Gelsemium elegans has leathery leaves with a smooth surface, a bit like the common holly (Boxwood). The leaves of honeysuckle are papery and dull.

How flowers grow

The flowers of Gelsemium elegans generally grow at the joints of branches and the tops of branches (i.e., the flowers are terminal or axillary), and the flowers grow in clusters, with often multiple flowers at a joint, and the flowers are trifurcated cymes. Honeysuckle mainly grows at the joints of branches. The flowers grow in pairs, and usually only two small flowers grow at one joint. The flowers are axillary.

Flowers vary in color and shape

The corolla of Gelsemium elegans is yellow, the flower shape is funnel-shaped, it is gamopetalous, and 1 to 1.6 cm long. The corolla of honeysuckle is lip-shaped and the flowers are trumpet-shaped. They are separate petals, the flower tube is relatively slender, and the flowers are smaller than those of heartbreak grass. In addition, the flowers of honeysuckle are white when they first bloom, and turn golden yellow after a day or two. The new and old complement each other, and the yellow and white set off each other, hence the name "honeysuckle".

The medicinal effects of Gelsemium elegans

The nature of Gastrodia elata is bitter and pungent, and it has the effects of eliminating toxins and fighting cancer, dispersing nodules and treating sores, and reducing swelling and relieving pain. Gelsemium elegans is also used externally for rheumatism, contusions, fractures of hands and feet, etc., but its medical use must be under the guidance of a doctor.

Medicinal effects of honeysuckle

Honeysuckle can clear away heat, detoxify, and dispel wind-heat. It is used for carbuncle, furuncle, throat congestion, erysipelas, hot blood toxic dysentery, wind-heat cold, fever due to febrile disease, sore throat and other symptoms, and the effects are significant; it is antibacterial and antiviral; it has the function of enhancing immunity; honeysuckle can promote lymphocyte transformation and enhance the phagocytic function of white blood cells; it is anti-inflammatory and antipyretic, etc.