AMERICAN HONEY PLANTS 83 



apple and other fruit trees. The blossoms appear from March to Ma,y and 

 serve to stimulate spring brood rearing, though where abundant^ strong 

 colonies may gather some surplus. 



The southern crab apple (Malus angustifolia) occurs in open woods 

 from southern Pennsylvania south to Florida and west to Louisiana and 

 Missouri. 



The American crab apple (Malus coronaria) is common from eastern 

 Canada to Michigan and south to Alabama and South Carolina. It is a 

 small tree and often grows in dense thickets, where it furnishes ideal bee 

 pasturage. 



The Soulard crab apple (Malus soulardi) is much like the American 

 crab apple in tree and flower, but has a larger fruit, which leads some 

 authors to regard it as a hybrid between the cultivated apple and a na- 

 tive species. It is sometimes cultivated for its fruit, which is used as a 

 substitute for quince. It occurs in the wild state from Minnesota to Texas, 

 but not very common. 



The Oregon crab apple (Malus diversifoHa, is a native of the Pacific 

 Coast from Alaska through Western Canada south to California. The 

 fruit was formerlj' dried by the Indians for winter use. 



All the wild crab apples are valuable sources of nectar, though the 

 principal value is to stimulate early brood rearing. 



CRIMSON CLOVER (Trifolium incarnatum). 



Crimson clover is grown in the Southern States, but is not hardy in 

 the North. It is an earlier bloomer than the other clovers. The blossoms 

 are more showy than either alsike or red clover. The plant is an annual, 

 and must be resown to perpetuate a field. 



The honey yield is reported to be good and the quality similar to that 

 ot the other clovers. It is nowhere grown on the scale of the others, so 

 is not so well known as a source of honey. 



Bonnier gives it third rank as a honey yielder. while the British Bee 

 Journal states that it is about on a par with buckwheat, and that neither 

 is satisfactory when honey of later yield is worked for. 



Niswonger lists it as a very important plant in Kentucky, and states 

 that the honey is of a very light yellow color of good quality. 



CROCUS. 



A group of early spring flowers native to the Mediterranean region 

 of Europe, widely cultivated in gardens. Among the first flowers to bloom, 

 they are very attractive to the bees, as shown in Fig. 47. 



CROTON (Croton). 



Scholl lists four species of croton as yielding pollen and nectar in 

 Texas, though none of them are of much importance. Richter states that 

 the bees visit the small blossoms of Croton californicus in large numbers. 

 The author can find no records which indicate that the plants are of spe- 

 cial value anywhere. 



