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 
Fic, 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 is 
