How certain are we that the flowers aren't toxic?
Also, are we talking about the common (in North American often considered invasive) Japanese Honeysuckle, or one of the
native species?
I had a niggle in the back of my brain that honeysuckle foraging safety was tricky. I haven't made a detailed research
project, but Green Dean at Eat The weeds has a
good article, from which my takeaway is "it's complicated, and it depends" -- a perfect Permies plant!
About honeysuckle species generally, he writes:
The honeysuckle family is iffy for foragers. It has edible members and toxic members, edible parts, toxic parts, and they mix and match. Some are tasty, some can stop your heart. So you really have to make sure of which one you have and which part is usable and how.
...
There are about 180 species of honeysuckle, most native to the northern hemisphere. The greatest number of species is in China with over 100. North America and Europe have only about 20 native species each, and the ones in Europe are usually toxic. Taste is not a measure of toxicity. Some Lonicera have delicious berries that are quite toxic and some have unpalatable berries that are not toxic at all. This is one plant on which taste is not a measure of edibility. Properly identify the species.
As for Japanese Honeysuckle (
Lonicera japonica), which I assume (but note, assumptions could be deadly here!) is the honeysuckle under discussion: he lists the edible parts as the nectar (note, he does not say "flowers") and the leaves, after cooking. Furthermore:
The Japanese Honeysuckle...is the honeysuckle kids grew up with, picking the flowers for a taste of sweetness. Young leaves are edible boiled.
...
METHOD OF PREPARATION: Nectar sucked off the ends of the flowers, young leaves boiled. In China leaves, buds and flowers are made into a tea but the tea may be toxic. Proceed carefully.
Nothing here that unequivocally condemns the
Japonica flowers, but I wanted to share this information so people can make their own suitably-cautious decisions. The actual non-nectar flower parts, by themselves, aren't individually and specifically discussed in the article. I don't imagine they are a huge problem, but it sounds like things could quickly go south if somebody was foraging one of the toxic European varieties and didn't realize all honeysuckle is not created equal. Be careful out there!