WILLOW-HERB. 



478 



WILLOW-HEKB. 



WILLOW-HERB. Often called fire- 

 weed, sometimes Indian pink, and rose bay. 

 The scientific name is Epiloh'mm angusUfo- 

 lium. Its growth is confined to the lumber- 

 ing regions of Northern Wisconsin, Minne- 

 sota, Michigan, Canada, Washington State, 

 and Maine, upon areas that have been burned 

 over, hence the name "flreweed." After 

 forest fires it seems to spring up spontane- 

 ously, monopolizing the soil to itself. Some- 

 times it grows in localities never so devas- 

 tated. 



at least so we thought after eating some at 

 one of the Michigan conventions which we 

 attended at Grand Rapids. Mr. Hutchinson 

 styles it the whitest and sweetest honey he 

 ever tasted, and says the flavor, while not 

 very pronounced, is suggestive of spice. 

 The quality of the honey, its unfailing sup- 

 ply from year to year, following right after 

 clover and basswood, and blooming from 

 then on till frost, make it one of the most 

 valuable honey - plants known. Unfortu- 

 nately its growth is confined almost exclu- 



rf/- ^ ' 









WILLOW-HERB AND ITS HOME (FKOM THE UEE-KEEi'BKS' REVIEW). 



It is a handsome plant, usually only a sin- 

 gle stalk growing from two to six feet high. 

 The flowers are dark pink, arranged in clus- 

 ters around the stalk. As the season ad- 

 vances, the first bloom goes to seed; and as 

 the stalk extends upward, more blossoms 

 a])pear, so the plant keeps in bloom from 

 July till frost. Thus appear on each stalk 

 buds, blossoms, and seed-pods at the same 

 time. 



Willow-herb, or flreweed, yields quanti- 

 ties of white honey. Some of it is so light- 

 colored as to be actually as clear and lim- 

 pid as water, having flavor simply superb— 



sively to the regions where forest fires occur. 

 But bee-keepers situated in its vicinity are 

 enabled to secure immense crops of fine 

 white honey. Another remarkable feature 

 of the plant is, it yields every year— at least 

 so continiiously that a faihu'e has scarcely 

 been known, even by the oldest inhabitants 

 in the vicinity where it grows. 



Mr. Hiitcliinson estimates there are thou- 

 sands of acres in Northern Michigan where 

 this i)lant grows, without bees to gather its 

 delicious nectar. But this condition certain- 

 ly can not long exist; for where one can pro- 

 duce anywhere from 100 to 125 pounds of 



