300 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



September 



GOLDENRODS AS HONEY PLANTS 



Facts About a Widely Distributed Family of Plants as a Source of 



Nectar~By Frank C. Pellett 



OF the eighty species of golden- 

 rod (Solidago) all but three or 

 four belong to North America. 

 It is one of our most widely distribut- 

 ed native plants. Some species seem 

 adapted to nearly every condition 

 from Canada to Mexico and from the 

 Atlantic coast to California. There is 

 a wide difference, however, in the 

 value of the dififerent species to the 

 beekeeper and it is no easy task_ to 

 get reliable information regarding 

 the range of conditions under which 

 it secretes nectar abundantly, nor is 

 there much recorded information 

 concerning the particular species 

 which are most valuable for this pur- 

 pose. It is a well-known fact that 

 the secretion of nectar with any plant 

 is greatly influenced by soil and cli- 



FIG. 1.— SOLIDAGO PUBERULA. 

 (Photograph by Sladen.) 



matic conditions. Some of our most 

 valuable honey plants have been re- 

 ported as producing no nectar when 

 introduced into Australia. 



It is very probable that when we 

 have studied the matter carefully we 

 will find that the same species of gol- 

 denrod varies as much in its nectar 

 secretion under dififerent conditions 

 as we know to be the case with al- 

 falfa. 



I am greatly indebted to Mr. John 

 H. Lovell for notes on the behavior 

 of goldenrods in New England and 

 for several of the photographs which 

 accompany this article. Mr. F. W. L. 

 Sladen, the Dominion apiarist, has 

 kindly furnished similar information 



about these plants in Canada and also 

 photographs of the species which are 

 most valuable there. Without the 

 assistance of these two, this article 

 would have been impossible. It is un- 

 fortunate that similar information is 

 not available from all sections of the 

 country. 



Lovell is of the opinion that all spe- 

 cies of goldenrods secrete nectar in 

 some localities. This is quite proba- 



FIG. 2.— SOLIDAGO SQUARROSA. 

 (Photograph by Sladen.) 



ble, although there is very little honey 

 from goldenrod in Iowa from any 

 species. Along the upper Mississippi, 

 in the northeastern counties, a few 

 beekeepers report goldenrod. In 

 other sections of the state beekeepers 

 report that they have never seen a 

 bee on the plant. Dr. L. H. Pammel, 

 botanist at the State Experiment Sta- 

 tion, reports nine species of golden- 

 rods common to this state. He lists 

 S. serotina, S. canadensis, and S. 

 graminifolia, as furnishing some 

 honey here. If Lovell is right about 

 all species yielding nectar under some 

 conditions, then all are of interest to 

 the beekeeper, and only the question 

 remains of learning the conditions 

 under which each species develops 

 most favorably. If all do not yield 

 nectar it is important that we learn 

 to distinguish between the species 

 which are valuable honey plants and. 

 those which are troublesome weeds. 

 Richter lists only two species of 

 this plant as important in (I'alifornia. 



The western goldenrod, S. occiden- 

 talis, he mentions as common in wet 

 places such as marshes and river 

 banks, from August to October, yield- 

 ing an amber honey. S. californica, 

 the common goldenrod of the coast, 

 he describes as common on dry plains 

 and hillsides or mountains through- 

 out the state, from August to Decem- 

 ber. He lists it as a fair honey plant. 



Scholl reports goldenrods as com- 

 mon to all parts of Texas and states 

 that the honey yield is good in favor- 

 able seasons when it is not too dry. 

 He reports a long season, from April 

 to November, but gives no list of the 

 species furnishing nectar in that re- 

 gion. 



Sladen reports finding eleven spe- 

 cies of goldenrods about Ottawa. He 



FIG. 3.— SOLIDAGO HISPIDA. 

 (Photograph by Sladen.) 



finds that individually the canadensis 

 group produce comparatively little 

 nectar, but their great abundance 

 makes them important collectively. 



Sladen also notes the variation of 

 the plant under different conditions 

 and says that the nature of the land 

 determines the presence and abund- 

 ance of the best species. He reports 

 that in the wet lands of Charlotte 

 County, N. B., especially in the 

 Honeydale district, they, together 

 with "asters, furnish the principal 

 source of nectar and that they are 

 valuable generally as a source of sur- 

 plus in coastal districts of New Bruns- 

 wick and Nova Scotia. The same is 



