64 



AMERICAN HONEY PLANTS 



CELASTRUS Scandens, see Bittersweet. 



CELERY (Apium graveolens). 



The blossoms of the cultivated celery yield nectar abundantly, and 

 where grown for seed, it is a valuable source of honey. In the seed belt 

 of California it yields well, as the following will indicate : 



"I saw the hives stacked five or six high and on opening them 

 we found them jammed full of honey; in fact, the bees should have had 

 room long before, but Mr. Gear had had difficulty in getting help, and 

 the bees had got ahead of him. The colonies were so crowded that 

 the space between the frames and the tops of the hives were built full 

 of burr combs. All this honey was from celery and ]iarsnip. * * * 

 On our arrival at the field it was easy 

 to see that there was honey in the 

 blossoms. In the sunlight the little 

 drops of nectar gleamed like myriads 

 of little diamonds. * * * I tasted 

 some of the raw nectar from the cel- 

 ery. Sure enough, there was quite a 

 strong suggestion of celery flavor." — 

 E. R. Root, Gleanings, Nov., 1919, page 

 712. 



CENTAUREA. 



There are several species of centaurea 

 which yield nectar. The common corn- 

 flower of the gardens (Centaurea Cyanus), 



also known as blue-bottle, bluet, ragged 

 sailor or batchelor's button, is a good 

 honey plant. The bees work upon it from 

 morning till night, though it is seldom suf- 

 ficiently abundant to be important as a 

 source of surplus. Richter lists this spe- 

 cies from California as commonly culti- 

 vated. He also lists the Napa thistle, or 

 tacalote (Centaureau melitensis), as yield- 

 ing some honey of light amber color, good 

 flavor and fair body. This species is known 

 in the southeastern States as Lombardy 

 star thistle. (See Star Thistle.) 



CENTURY PLANT (Agave). 



The agaves are an important group of 

 long-lived perennial plants native to Trop- 

 ical America, Mexico and, to some extent, 

 to the southwestern United States. Each 

 plant has a cluster of numerous fleshy 

 leaves and, when blooming, a tall flower 

 stalk. There are at least five species na- 

 tive to the United States. The range is 

 southern New Mexico, Arizona and Cali- 



Fig. 37. The century plant is 

 slow to bloom, but is a strik- 

 ing sight when it does 50, 



