AMERICAN HONEY PLANTS 183 



PALM. 



Royal palms (Roystonea regia) are very abundant in Cuba and Porto 

 Rico and are probably the most characteristic trees of those islands. 

 They are also to be found to some extent in the southern portions of the 

 United States. As sources of honey these trees are important in the 

 West Indies, where they yield nectar abundantly. 



The date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) has been planted to a limited ex- 

 tent in the desert regions of the Southwestern United States. This species 

 is reputed to be a splendid source of nectar. 



The cocoanut palm (Cocos nucifera) is the most important of all the 

 palm trees, since the nuts furnish large quantities of food, much used in 

 tropical countries. This species is common in the West Indies and in 

 southern Florida. Although the source of considerable honey it is not 

 equal to the foregoing species as a source of nectar. (See also Palmetto). 



PALMETTO (Sabal). 



The palmettos are the most conspicuous feature of the flora of the 

 south half of Florida. (Fig. 104.) The cabbage palmetto is a tree, while 

 the saw or scrub palmetto grows more like the underbrush in northern 

 forests. To the man accustomed to dense forests, the open, park-like 

 growth of the palmettos hardly seems like woodland. The illustration 

 gives a good idea of the typical Florida landscape. 



This group of plants is not important in America, outside of the State 

 cf Florida. A small area in lower Texas, about the mouth of the Rio 

 Grande River, is covered by a species of palmetto closely resembling the 

 cabbage palmetto, but it is thought to be a different species. An occa- 

 sional tree is also found along the seacoast as far north as Charleston, 

 S. C. They are to be found also as street trees in various southern 

 cities along the Gulf Coast and in south Texas. The small saw palmetto 

 (Serenoa serrulata) also extends its range into Georgia and the Carolinas, 

 in open pine woodlands. 



In Florida both forms are sufficiently abundant to furnish nectar in 

 quantity worthy the attention of the commercial beekeeper. However, in 

 too many localities there is little else available, so that the season between 

 flows is too long to make beekeeping worth while. To take advantage of 

 the palmetto flows and at the same time get good crops through the rest 

 of the year, the late O. O. Poppleton practiced migratory beekeeping. His 

 apiaries were moved several times during the year, so as to be near dif- 

 ferent sources in the period of bloom. The great drawback to beekeeping 

 in Florida is the lack of a sufficient variety of honey plants in one loca- 



