MaxEnt-based Prediction of Potential Distribution Areas of Lonicera japonica and Lonicera macranthoides

The bud and flowers of Lonicera japonica, is the most commonly Chinese traditional medicine for heat-clearing and detoxifying. The open buds of Lonicera macranthoides whose flower morphology is similar with L. japonica are often used to replace honeysuckle as medicine, but the efficacy is very different. In this study, MaxEnt niche modeling and ArcGIS software were applied to predict the potential distribution of L. japonica and L. macranthoides in China. The results showed that L. japonica was mainly distributed in central and south China. L. macranthoides has a relatively narrow distribution, which almost focus in south China. The Jackknife analyses of environmental variable showed that mean temperature of coldest quarter and min temperature of coldest month had great contribution to distribution of the two species, however, annual mean temperature, isothermality and annual mean temperature had little contribution to their distribution. The ecological niche modeling of L. japonica and L. macranthoides provides a fundamental guidance for introduction, cultivation and standardization of Chinese traditional medicine of the two species.