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Today, Lonicera is used as the dried flower buds or flowers in early bloom of the honeysuckle flower Lonicera japonica Thunb. of the honeysuckle family. Honeysuckle Stem refers to the dried stems and branches of this plant. Wild honeysuckle flower bud refers to the dried flower buds or flowers in early bloom of the honeysuckle family plants Lonicera macranthoides Hand.-Mazz., Lonicera hypoglauca Miq., or Lonicera confusa DC. Lonicera is both wild and cultivated, mainly produced in Mi County, Wen County, Bo'ai, Qinyang, Dengfeng, Gongyi, Xingyang, Wuzhi, and Meng County in Henan Province, known as "Huai Lonicera," also called "Huai Lonicera." Those produced in Pingyi, Fei County, Cangshan, Yishui, and Mengyin in Shandong Province are known as "Dong Lonicera" or "Ji Lonicera," with those from Mi County in Henan being particularly renowned, specifically called "Mi Lonicera." Additionally, it is also produced in Anhui, Jiangsu, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Hubei, Hunan, and Guizhou. Honeysuckle Stem is less commonly used, and its production situation is similar to Lonicera. The 2005 edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia separated Lonicera hypoglauca and Lonicera confusa, which were originally used as Lonicera, and added Lonicera macranthoides, collectively as the original plants of "wild honeysuckle flower bud." Wild honeysuckle flower bud is widely cultivated or wild across the country, with cultivation being the majority, and there is no significant regional specificity.

Materia medica research suggests that the medicinal parts of honeysuckle flower were mainly the vine stems, seedlings, and leaves until the Song Dynasty. The term Lonicera in ancient texts mainly referred to its stems and leaves rather than flower buds. The use of honeysuckle flower buds as medicine began in the Song Dynasty and flourished in the Qing Dynasty. The rise of Lonicera is likely related to the emphasis on using its flower buds for tea during that period. Ancient Lonicera mainly came from plants of the Lonicera genus in the honeysuckle family. The current status of Lonicera japonica as the standard product is related to its widespread distribution and large-scale cultivation in Henan, especially the emphasis on Lonicera in this region since the Song Dynasty. Various species of wild honeysuckle flower bud have always been one of the sources of Lonicera, but according to the direction of the 2005 Pharmacopoeia, if these wild honeysuckle flower buds cannot make new discoveries in composition and efficacy, they are likely to be phased out from the medicinal market, so large-scale cultivation is not recommended.

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Lonicera, anciently known as honeysuckle flower, is recorded in the Mingyi Bielu. Tao Hong-jing stated: "It is found everywhere today, resembling a vine, and does not wither in winter, hence the name honeysuckle flower." As for the name Lonicera, it first appeared in the Sushen Liangfang, where it was used in the Yongju Fang with tender shoots of honeysuckle flower and Liquorice Root. An annotation following the prescription states: "When I was in Jiangxi, there was a medical monk named Jianqing who was skilled in treating back gangrene. I obtained his prescription, which used old man's beard, and I found it quite mysterious. Ten years later, passing through Jinling, I heard that the physician Wang Qi was also skilled in treating ulcers, and his prescription used Japanese honeysuckle stem. Upon obtaining and examining it, it turned out to be old man's beard. Several years later, my friend Wang Ziyuan claimed to have a vitality formula that had saved several people, using Japanese honeysuckle stem. Passing through Liyang, a physician named Du treated ulcers and once saved a person with twenty thousand coins, using Japanese honeysuckle stem. In Xuanzhou, Ningguo, a prescription was passed down by Wang Zibo, using Lonicera. In Haizhou, a scholar named Liu Chunchen passed down a prescription using golden hairpin. These gentlemen all mystified their techniques, but upon examining the herbs, they were all the same. I verified through materia medica that it was indeed honeysuckle flower." It also describes the morphology and origins of various names of honeysuckle flower: "The leaves of honeysuckle flower are pointed and the stems are round, with both stems and leaves being hairy, found everywhere in fields and fences. The leaves are opposite, with new leaves in spring and summer being slightly pointed, tender green, and thin, turning thick, deep-colored, and round in autumn, curling and turning purple with frost, and not withering through winter. It blooms in April, extremely fragrant and lovely, resembling jasmine and daphne, initially white, turning yellow after a few days, often with yellow and white interspersed, hence another name Lonicera. The flowers extend several stamens like threads, hence another name old man's beard or golden hairpin. In winter, the leaves are round and thick like Ficus pumila, hence another name Japanese honeysuckle stem. It can be transplanted to garden fences for emergencies." The Yishuo quotes the Yijian Ji Zhi: "During the Chongning period, five monks from Baiyun Temple on Tianping Mountain in Suzhou found a large cluster of mushrooms while walking in the mountains, picked and cooked them, and suffered vomiting at night. Three of them quickly picked and ate raw honeysuckle grass and recovered. The other two were reluctant to eat it and vomited to death. This grass grows as a vine, with opposite yellow and white flowers, found near water and mountains, especially effective in treating Yongju swelling and toxins, whether taken orally or applied externally. Today it is called Lonicera, also old man's beard, and in materia medica, honeysuckle flower." Referring to the morphological description of honeysuckle flower in the Xinxiu Bencao: "This grass grows as a vine, covering other plants, with reddish-purple stems and a thin white membrane on older ones. The tender stems are hairy, leaves resemble broad beans, also hairy on both sides, with white flowers and purple stamens." It is thus understood that what various sources refer to as honeysuckle flower or Lonicera are plants of the Lonicera genus in the honeysuckle family.

In ancient times, the vine stems of the honeysuckle flower were used, hence the Bielu mentions harvesting in December. The Zhenglei cites the Zhouhou Fang for treating flying corpse and corpse infestation, using the stems and leaves of the honeysuckle flower. Even during the Song Dynasty, although the name Lonicera existed, the use of the flower was not common. The previously mentioned Sushen Liangfang and Yishuo actually used the vine stems or the whole plant of the honeysuckle flower. Additionally, the Lyuchanyan Bencao, Volume II, also mentions the name Lonicera, but the official name in that entry is "Egret Vine." Furthermore, the Jiyan Beiju Fang for treating acute mastitis and back gangrene with a miraculous formula uses only Lonicera, but the recipe notes "collect leaves and grind into residue," indicating that the term "Lonicera" in the medical texts of that time described the plant's characteristics rather than specifically using the flower for medicine. The "Three Categories of Disease Cause: Extreme One Disease Theory" Volume 10, honeysuckle flower pill recipe, uses the honeysuckle flower plant alone, and it is the first to formally mention: "Roots, stems, flowers, and leaves can all be used. Also known as Old Man's Beard, Honey-sipping Flower, and Lonicera."

The Jiuhuang Bencao of the Ming Dynasty was the first to use "Lonicera" as the official name for the honeysuckle flower, stating: "Lonicera, known in materia medica as honeysuckle flower, also called Egret Vine, Left-twining Vine, Golden Hairpin, Old Man's Beard, and Honeysuckle Stem. Previously, the regions of origin were not recorded, but now it is also found in the mountains and fields of Huixian. Its vine does not wither in winter, hence the name honeysuckle flower plant. It climbs and spreads on trees, with slightly purple stems, opposite leaves resembling those of the Ficus pumila but greener, similar to the leaves of the water tea mortar but slightly rounded and soft, somewhat rough on the back, and larger than black soybean leaves. It blooms with five petals, slightly fragrant, with red-tinged bases, white when first blooming, turning yellow after one or two days, hence the name Lonicera. Materia medica does not mention its efficacy in treating Yongju back gangrene, but modern notable figures have found it remarkably effective. It tastes sweet, is warm in nature, and non-toxic." Subsequent Diannan Bencao separately describes the effects of Lonicera and Honeysuckle Stem, stating: "Lonicera, bitter in taste and cold in nature, clears heat, treats various sores, Yongju back gangrene, innominate swelling pain, red tumors, and pestilent qi. The vine can soothe the middle, lower qi, disperse phlegm, dispel wind heat, and clear throat heat pain."

Ming Dynasty texts such as "Pin Hui Jing Yao," "Bencao Gangmu," and "Materia Medica Chengya Banji" still state that the "stems, leaves, and flowers of the honeysuckle flower have the same effects." However, starting from the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, there was a shift towards valuing the flower over the vine. Representative statements include Depei Bencao (1761): "Both vine and leaves are usable, but the flower is especially good." Bencao Qiuzhen (1769): "The flower and leaves have the same effects, but the flower is particularly wonderful." The reason for this shift is likely related to the contemporary emphasis on drinking Lonicera tea and making Lonicera dew. Bencao Qiuzhen's Lonicera entry mentions: "In Jiangnan, it is used as a tea substitute." Zhiwu Mingshi Tukao states: "In Wu during the summer heat, the flower is added to tea, and tea shops value newly arrived Lonicera highly, all produced in Zhongzhou." The preparation of Lonicera dew is seen in Bencao Gangmu Shiyi: "Golden Silver Dew is made by steaming Honeysuckle Stem flowers, with fresh flowers yielding a fragrant product, while dried flowers are slightly inferior. It has a fragrant aroma and sweet taste, can open the stomach and soothe the middle, remove toxins and quench fire. In summer, it is used as a tea substitute, feeding it to children prevents sores, and it is especially effective in dispersing summer heat."

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Honeysuckle flowers are produced in various regions, with different varieties. The "Revised Weiyao Tiaobian" once distinguished Lonicera from different production areas by prefixing them with place names. Cao said: "Lonicera, produced in Huaiqing, Henan, is called Huaimi, with yellow-white color, soft and glutinous, clean, thick and long petals, and fine hairs, which is the best. The one produced in Yuzhou is called Yumi, with smaller flowers, no fine hairs, and easy to change color, which is also good. The one produced in Jinan is called Jiyin, with deep yellow color and broken petals, which is inferior. The one produced in Bozhou has small petals and a hard texture, which is even worse. The ones produced in Hubei and Guangdong have deep yellow color, heavy stems and petal fragments, and turbid smell, which are not suitable for medicine." It should be affirmed that most of these Lonicera are plants of the Lonicera genus of the honeysuckle family, and the acquisition of the authentic status of Lonicera japonica is quite related to the wide distribution and cultivation of this variety in Henan, especially since the Song Dynasty's emphasis on Lonicera in this area. "Quwei Jiuwen" Volume 3 says: "In the fields of Zheng and Xu, there is a kind of flower in February and March, which is creeping, with a clear and distant fragrance, and can be smelled on horseback, quite similar to osmanthus, with white flowers, and the locals call it egret flower, because of its shape. It is also called five-mile fragrance." According to what it says, it is Lonicera, and both Zheng and Xu are in Henan. "Jiuhuang Bencao" says "now it is also found in the mountains and fields of Huixian County", and there are attached pictures, and "Zhiwu Mingshi Tukao" also says "they are all produced in Zhongzhou".

It is evident that Lonicera undoubtedly originates from Henan as its authentic production area. As for the newly differentiated variety "wild honeysuckle flower bud" in the 2005 edition of Zhongguo Yaodian, it was actually one of the sources of Lonicera in ancient times. However, judging from the direction of the Pharmacopoeia, if these wild honeysuckle flower buds cannot make new discoveries in terms of composition and efficacy in the future, they are highly likely to be phased out from the medicinal market. Therefore, large-scale cultivation is not recommended.