This one's a bit unusual, as I didn't ever attain the substance in question from my local supermarket or liquor store, or, indeed, any business at all. When I was a kid, we had honeysuckle growing on some other foliage, and on our fence, at the rear of our property. So technically the flowers were probably considered to be on our neighbors' property, but I don't think they cared. Or if they did, I'm confident that the statute of limitations on stealing nectar has probably passed.
The over 180 species of what's commonly referred to as "honeysuckle" are native to Asia, Europe, and North America. However, as of now they can also be found in South America, Africa, and Australia. In some cases, to an excessive degree, as honeysuckle is considered to be an invasive species. Meaning it often thrives a little too well in new locations, and out competes native plants, causing them to die from lack of resources. The reason honeysuckle made it to these new homes is because it has some positive attributes--people usually find its odor to be nice, and it's also good at fighting soil erosion. Additionally, many animals like to eat it, including such creatures as deer, which makes it easier for hunters to bag them.
As far as being safe for humans to consume, honeysuckle is hit and miss. The flowers, leaves, nectar, and berries of some species are edible, and often enjoyed by people. Some folks eat the leaves in salads, and use the flowers and nectar for jellies, jams, or to make flavored teas. Honeysuckle is even used as a flavoring agent for wines, and liquors. Important safety tip, though--whether or not the honeysuckle plant is safe to eat, and which parts of it are so, depends on the species. And occasionally it's a serious distinction, since some honeysuckle variants are quite poisonous. So as with, say, mushrooms, make sure you've positively identified the species before you partake. But it goes further. In the traditional medicines of both Native Americans and the Chinese, honeysuckle is said to have significant healing and treatment qualities. It's alleged to help versus sore throats, coughs, headaches, fever, and skin infections. Or it's used to treat bruises, encourage hair growth, or serve as a contraceptive. I'll include my usual caveat--none of these have been proven scientifically. So I'd go with widely available and proven treatments like aspirin, Minoxidil, condoms, etc.. instead.
It's been around 30 years since I had it, but I did check on some images and descriptions of the various honeysuckle species online. It appears that I sampled from Lonicera japonica, which as the name suggests, is native to Japan, and some neighboring Far Eastern countries. This species was introduced to the U.S. in the early 1900's. It's considered invasive, and annoying, in many parts of America. I'm not 100% sure of this, but the honeysuckle I ate from had yellow and white, distinctive flowers, which Lonicera japonica has. Alas, I just checked to see if the honeysuckle on our fence was still there, and it's gone, so I can't check the leaves now, or the flowers and berries when they would appear later in the spring or summer.
Lonicera japonica honeysuckle nectar: I think it was my mother who taught me and my siblings how to consume honeysuckle nectar. First you carefully pull a flower off the plant. Then you pinch off the green tip of the base of the flower, and gently pull. This causes the inner tendrils to emerge, including a longer, main one. A drop of nectar should be on that main tendril, and you then touch that to your tongue before it drips off, or seeps down into the flower. I recall liking it--it had a nice sweet taste. Something like honey, only less sticky and goop-y. It was a cool little treat, a pleasant break after a day of running around, playing tag, getting into rock fights, playing with Lawn Darts, and such. I do recommend it, and I'm inspired to try it again, assuming I can locate any in the area. I'd be interested in trying things flavored with honeysuckle, too--the jams, jellies, wines, and liquors, and maybe even the leaves in a salad. But thinking about collecting the honeysuckle nectar is exhausting--talk about labor intensive, since each flower has only a tiny drop!
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