[6] The plant or its fruit has also come to be called haskap, derived from its name in the language of the native Ainu people of Hokkaido, Japan.
The fruit is an edible, blue berry, somewhat cylindrical in shape weighing 1.3 to 2.2 grams (0.046 to 0.078 oz), and about 1 cm (0.39 in) in diameter.
[8][10] Chromosome count is 2n =18[11] The species is circumpolar, primarily found in or near wetlands of boreal forests in heavy peat soils of North America, Europe, and Asia.
[6][12] It also can be found in high-calcium soils, in mountains, and along the coasts of northeastern Asia and northwestern North America.
[8] In recent years, a new programme has aimed at growing honeyberries commercially in Scotland (with a similar climate to Japan) at farms in Duns, Angus, Tayside, Perth and Fife.
[9] Powdery mildew is one disease documented to affect Lonicera caerulea, usually after fruit maturity in mid– to late summer.
[17] Over centuries in East Asian countries, Lonicera caerulea has been used for supposed therapeutic applications in traditional medicine.