510 
HONEY PLANTS 
tities of pollen, and are consequently often 
valuable to the apiarist. See Pollen. 
Other pollen plants bear large handsome 
flowers like the roses and poppies, which 
are pollinated by insects, and are called 
pollen flowers; they contain no nectar, and 
insects visit them for pollen alone. Mis¬ 
takes are often made in regard to these 
flowers, and bees are reported as bringing 
in nectar when such is not the case. Possi¬ 
bly some of these errors have arisen from 
the presence of honeydew on the leaves. A 
list of the more important pollen plants is, 
therefore, given separately. No attempt 
has been made to include all nectarless 
flowers, but only those of importance to 
beekeepers. A great number of flowers 
yield both nectar and pollen; but these are 
placed under Honey Plants. The species 
in the following list are nectarless unless 
otherwise stated. 
PLANTS THAT YIELD POLLEN ONLY. 
Alder (Alims).-—•Wind-pollinated; the small 
brownish flowers appear in early spring. The 
aments (staminate) of the common or hoary alder 
(A. incana) are visited by honeybees for pollen. 
Anemone (Anemone quinquefolia) . —Large white 
pollen flowers; pollen gathered by bees in spring. 
Ash (Fraxinus). —Some species are pollinated by 
insects, others by the wind; small greenish flow¬ 
ers. 
Bayberry ( Myrica ).—Shrubs blooming in spring; 
flowers small, greenish, wind-pollinated. 
Beech (Fagus) . —Large trees, with small wind- 
pollinated flowers. Honeydew is found on the 
leaves. 
Birch (Betula). —Small greenish or golden-yel¬ 
low flowers, appearing with or before the leaves 
in spring; wind-pollinated; mostly trees. 
Bloodroot ( Sanguinaria canadensis). —Large hand¬ 
some white pollen flowers in April or May. Visited 
by honeybees in large numbers, which remove nearly 
all the pollen. 
California Poppy ( Eschscholtzia californica). — 
Large orange-yellow pollen flowers; great numbers 
of bees visit them for pollen. 
Castor-oil Bean ( Ricinus communis).- —The small 
flowers are wind-pollinated; stamens very numer¬ 
ous ; an abundance of pollen; extra-floral nectaries 
at the base of the leaves. 
Chestnut ( Castanea ).—The chestnut tree (C. 
dentata) has small, pleasantly scented, pale-yellow 
pollen flowers; but chinquapin ( C . pvmila) , a 
spreading-shrub, is reported to be a valuable honey 
plant in the South. 
Clematis.—A part of the wild species and the 
large handsome flowers of the cultivated varieties 
of C. Jackmanni are nectarless, but are visited by 
bees for pollen. Other species yield nectar includ¬ 
ing the common wild Clematis ( C. virginiana). 
Cockle-burr (Xanthium canculense). —Small flow¬ 
ers from which bees obtain pollen in the fall. They 
contain a little nectar. 
Corn (Zea Mays). —Wind-pollinated; bees gather 
pollen from the spindles; in some seasons they gather 
also large quantities of honeydew from the leaves. 
Cone trees (Coniferae) . —‘Fir, spruce, pine, cedar, 
juniper, and many other cone trees. While they 
produce enormous quantities of pollen, it is not 
used bu bees—probably too resinous. From the 
foliage of pine trees and spruces bees obtain mucii 
honeydew. See Honydbw. Gymnosperms. 
Date Palm ( Phoenix dactylifera) .-—Large areas 
of California an,d Arizona are adapted to date cul¬ 
ture. There are extensive plantations of great age 
in Lower California and Mexico. In southern Asia 
and northern Africa this tree is of inestimable value. 
The staminate and pistillate flowers are produced 
on different trees, or the trees are partly “male” 
and partly “female.” In nature pollination is ef¬ 
fected by the wind, but under cultivation by binding 
a sprig of staminate flowers among the pistillate. 
Flowers small, in large clusters; in California bees 
visit the staminate flowers freely for pollen. Bloom 
in early spring. 
Elder (Sambucus) . —Small white pollen flowers 
in large clusters; bees sometimes gather the pol¬ 
len. 
Elm ( TJlmus americana) . —Small purple flowers 
which appear in the spring, and are wind-pollin¬ 
ated. They are visited by great numbers of bees 
for pollen. 
Furze (TJlex europaeus) . —Gorse. Introduced 
from Europe. A pollen flower, yields considerable 
pollen, which honeybees and wild bees gather and 
also search the flowers for nectar. In Australia the 
large area over which it has spread presents a 
golden landscape in spring; reported to yield, nec¬ 
tar in warm regions. 
Grape ( Vitis ).—Valuable for pollen; yields some 
nectar. Honeydew occurs on the foliage. 
Grasses (Gramineae) . —Small greenish flowers, 
with a great abundance of pollen; wind-pollinated; 
sparingly visited by insects. About 429 species in 
North America. 
Hazelnut ( Corylus americana). —Small yellowish 
flowers, valuable for pollen in early spring; wind- 
pollinated. 
Hepatica ( Hepatica triloba). —Handsome blue or 
white pollen flowers; attractive to bees in early 
spring. 
Hemp (Cannabis sativa). —Small flowers pollin¬ 
ated by the wind. 
Hickory (Cary a). —Pecan, mocker nut; large 
trees with small wind-pollinated flowers; valuable 
for pollen; much honeydew on the leaves. 
Hop (Humulus Lupidus) .-—Small greenish flow¬ 
ers, wind-pollinated; common. 
Hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana) . —Large tree 
with small wind-pollinated flowers. 
Indian Wheat (Plantago ignota) . —Very abund¬ 
ant over va-st areas of sandy mesas in Arizona, 
where it affords valuable pasturage for cattle. The 
flowers are nectarless, but are valuable for pollen. 
Loosestrife (Lysimachia vulgaris). — Medium¬ 
sized yellow pollen flowers. 
Lupine (Lupinus). —‘The flowers are nectarless, 
but are frequently visited by honeybees and other 
bees for pollen. Honeybees sometimes vainly at¬ 
tempt to suck nectar from the flowers. Blue lupine 
(L. subcarnosus) is very abundant in Texas, and 
is often visited by bees for pollen. 
Meadow-rue (Thalictrum) .-—Common; white or 
greenish pollen flowers visited by honeybees for 
pollen. Rue anemone (Anemonella thalictroides) 
produces a great abundance of white flowers in low 
land; wind-pollinated. 
Mullein ( Verbascwm ). —Common ; bright-yellow 
pollen flowers. A part of the species are nectarless. 
Others contain some nectar. 
Mulberry (Morus rubra). —A tree with small 
wind-pollinated flowers. 
Nettle (TJrtica ).— -Greenish flowers in summer; 
wind-pollinated. 
Oak (Quercus). — Small greenish or reddish 
