AMERICAN HONEY PLANTS 



49 



Willow herb or fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium). 



Goldenrod (Soladago canadense). Flowers in July and August. 



— W. J. Sheppard. American Bee Journal, Nov., 1917. 



BROOMWEED (Gutierrezia texana). 



Broomweed is a common fall plant over a large portion of Texas, on 

 the prairies. According to Scholl it yields well in September and October. 

 The honey is dark and strong and valued mostly for winter stores. In the 

 November 1, 1906, issue of American Bee Journal he writes as follows con- 

 cerning this plant : 



"Broomweed is still in bloom, the pastures being one sheet of 

 golden yellow. Cold nights and cool, windy days have interfered wi.th 

 the bees somewhat, but there are yet many warm days when the bees 

 are very busy. Some of my bees have stored a good deal of surplus 

 from this plant, for this time of the year — about 20 pounds per colony. 

 The honey is a golden yellow and has a somewhat strong taste, a little 

 bitter, and hence is not a suitable honey for market." 



BUCKBRUSH, see Indian Currant, also Snowberry and Dogbane. 

 BUCKEYE (Aesculus). 



The buckeye or horse chestnut 

 is widely distributed and well 

 known because of the poisonous 

 properties of the peculiar nut-like 

 fruit, everywhere called buckeye. 

 There are several species, with 

 minor differences. The photo- 

 graph is of the blossoms of the 

 Ohio buckeye (Aesculus glabra). 

 This species occurs from New 

 England west to Iowa, Kansas and 

 Oklahoma and south to Georgia, 

 Alabama and east Texas. There is 

 a species common on the Pacific 

 Coast known as the California 

 buckeye (Aesculus californica). 

 This species is reported as yield- 

 ing considerable honey in some lo- 

 calities in California, and some 

 beekeepers think it is poisonous to 

 the bees. 



The buckeye is widely men- 

 tioned as a honey plant, though 

 there are few localities where it is 

 sufficiently abundant to be import- 

 ant as a source of surplus. 



md leaves of buckeye or 

 horse-chestnut. 



