240 



AMERICAN HONEY PLANTS 



Much has been written about the remarkable secretion by this plant 

 and the excitement it causes among the bees. Under favorable conditions 

 i; is one of the very best of honey plants and, if sufficiently common, 

 would no doubt be the source of large quantities of surplus honey. There 

 are reports to the effect that spider plant grows abundantly in neglected 

 fields in some localities in southeastern Missouri and is there important. 

 It is said to require a rich soil for best results in nectar secretion. A 

 single blossom secretes nectar so freely that a bee often finds a drop larger 

 than it can carry at one load. 



128. Spanish needle (Bidciis aristosa). 



SPIKEWEED (Centromadia pungens). 



Spikeweed is a common plant in California, where its range is given 

 ])y Jepson as follows : 



"Abundant on the plains of the lower San Joaquin southward to 

 southern California and westward to Walnut Creek and Alameda. On 

 the alkaline plains of the upper San Joaquin this species covers tens 

 of thousands of acres and often forms thickets four or five feet high. 

 It is abundant in the low, more or less alkaline plains of Solano County 

 and forms extensive colonies in summer fields. Extermination is often 

 accomplished by means of bands of sheep, which leave the fields per- 

 fectly clean and destitute of this spikeweed pest. — Flora of Western 

 Middle California. 

 According to Richter, carloads of honey from spikeweed are shipped 



