78 SOURCES OF NECTAR 



Valuable Plants That are Seldom Abundant. — There are 

 a number of plants that secrete nectar freely, which would be 

 exceedingly valuable if sufficiently abundant. Catnip, nepeta 

 cataria, (Fig. 40) originally introduced from Europe has become 



Fig. 43. — Blossoms of the button bush. 



very widely naturalized in the United States. When in bloom 

 it is eagerly sought by the bees. Figwort, or Simpson's honey 

 plant, Scrophularia marilandica (Fig. 41) is another widely 

 distributed plant on which the bees work freely. The button 

 bush, Cephalanthus occidentalis (Fig. 43) is a bushy shrub that 

 grows in wet lands. In a few localities along the Mississippi it ia 



