AMERICAN HONEY PLANTS 115 



H 



HACKBERRY (Celtis). 



The hackberries are an important group of trees. There are about 

 sixty species of trees and shrubs which are widely distributed in both the 

 old world and America. There are about half a dozen species known to 

 America, and of these, three are much valued by the beekeepers of Texas. 

 The author has never known the bees to find nectar on the hackberry in 

 the north, and was surprised at the many reports of honey from hack- 

 berry received from Texas beekeepers while visiting that State. 



The granjeno (Celtis pallida) is a shrub common to the mesas and 

 foothills of western and southern Texas. E. G. LeStourgeon, of San 

 Antonio .regards it as the best of all the hackberries, blooming after every 

 good rain. The honey is pale amber in color and of good quality. He re- 

 ports that honey from all hackberries is of good quality. When the au- 

 thor visited a't Brownsville, in February, 1918, the bees were working on 

 the above species very freely at that time. 



The Southern hackberry or sugarberry (Celtis mississippiensis) is com- 

 mon all over the Gulf and South Atlantic States from Kentucky and south- 

 ern Illinois to Florida, Arkansas and central Texas. LeStourgeon reports 

 that this species blooms after the others, in March and April, and that 

 while it yields some honey, it is not as good as the others. 



The Northern hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) is also known as sugar- 

 berry, and is common from New England and Ontario to Minnesota, Ne- 

 braska, Colorado and southward to Georgia and Texas. The author has 

 never heard a report of bees visiting this species for nectar in the North, 

 but it is reported also as a source of honey in Texas. 



HAU TREE (Paritium tiliacium). 



"The hau tree of Hawaii has nectaries on its leaves which secrete a 

 honeydew. These are located on the veins of the leaves near the stem, 

 and are one, two, three or five in number. Small drops of honeydew may 

 frequently be seen on these spots. It is interesting to note that these 

 extra-floral nectaries are present on the outside of the calyx of the flow- 

 ers. There is apparently no true floral nectary. The hau tree is used ex- 

 tensively as a hedge, and grows from 20 to 30 feet high. It is doubtful 

 whether this is the source of any great percentage of the honeydew 

 honey." — E. F. Phillips, Bui. 75, Part 5, Bureau of Entomology. 



HAW, see Hawthorne. 



HAWAII— Honey Flora of. 



The algarroba tree (Prosopis juliflora) is either the same species as, 



