HONEY PLANTS 
513 
Brazilwood ( Condalia obovata). —A small tree, or 
only a spiny shrub, forming dense thickets in south¬ 
ern Texas. Blooms in spring. The honey is dark 
amber and does not granulate readily. 
Broomweed ( Gutierrezia texana). —Plains of 
Texas and Arkansas: Honey dark amber and 
strong flavored, but good for winter. September to 
October. 
Brunnichia ( Brunnichia cirrhosa). —A perennial 
vine of the buckwheat family. The greenish flowers 
are in clusters of two to five, and appear from May 
to June. In the Yazoo Delta in western Mississippi 
it produces great sheets of bloom and probably 
yields a surplus. It is also- reported to yield a small 
surplus in southeast Texas. 
Buckbush ( Symphoricarpos occidentalis). —Com¬ 
mon in the northwestern States. The extracted 
honey is white with a pleasant flavor and after three 
years had not granulated. A shrub with white 
bell-shaped flowers. 
Buckeye ( Aesculus glabra). —Ohio to Kansas and 
southward. Considerable honey is obtained from 
the California buckeye ( Aesculus californica). 
Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica). —This species 
is found in the middle States. Cascara sagrada ( R. 
purshiuna) is the main honey plant at Sonora, Calif. 
Comb honey from this plant is so dark that it sells 
poorly where it is known, but is highly valued for 
its medicinal properties; does not granulate. A 
profusion of flowers on which bees work for about 
25 days. The coffee-berry (R. calif ornica) yields a 
heavy amber honey. 
Buckwheat ( Fagopyrum escvlentum). —A dark- 
purplish honey, of heavy body, with a more or less 
sickish taste to those unaccustomed to it. Exten¬ 
sively cultivated thruout the temperate regions of 
Europe, Asia, and North America; thousands of 
acres are grown in New York and Pennsylvania. 
Yields nectar only during the forenoon. See Buck¬ 
wheat. 
Bur Clover ( Medicago hispida). —Common on the 
hills and plains of California. Occasionally yields 
a surplus, but of more value for stimulating brood¬ 
rearing. Belongs to the same genus as alfalfa. 
Buttonbush ( Cephalanthus occidentalis). —Impor¬ 
tant on the overflowed land of the Mississippi, and 
in swamps in many States. A mild light-colored 
honey. 
Buttonweed ( Senecio glabellus). —Several species 
of Senecio, or groundsel, appear to be of value as 
honey plants. 
Cabbage Palmetto ( Sabal Palmetto). —North 
Carolina to Florida and in the Bahamas and Cuba. 
Honey nearly white, mild, and so thin that it runs 
almost like water. The flavor is not equal to the 
honey of the scrub palmetto. A great drooping 
flower cluster bearing hundreds of small white flow¬ 
ers. See Palmetto. 
Cabbage ( Brassica oleracea) .■ —Cabbage, rape, 
turnip, radish, cress, horseradish, mustard, and 
many other species of the mustard family (Cruci- 
ferae) are of value. See Mustard. 
Cachinella ( Berthelotia sericea). —-A shrub about 
3 feet tall, with pink flowers and silky leaves. In 
New Mexico yields a light colored honey. 
Cactus or Prickly Pear ( Opuntia Engelmannii). — 
Southwestern Texas, southward and westward. 
Sometimes a surplus of honey of light-amber color; 
body heavy and stringy, of rank flavor. Flowers 
yellow inside, red outside. The prickly pear intro¬ 
duced from Rio de Janeiro into Australia in 1789 
as food for the cochineal insect now badly infests 
an area of 30,000,000 acres, to which about 1,000,- 
000 acres are being added annually by natural in¬ 
crease. 
Campanilla ( Ipomoea sidaefolia and I. triloba) .— 
17 
Christmas bells, Christmas pop. Honey pearly white, 
equal to alfalfa in flavor. Mexico, Cuba, and Ja¬ 
maica. See Campanilla. 
Canada Thistle ( Cirsium arvense). —A common 
weed from Europe; honey light-colored, of fine 
flavor and quality. Common in Canada, the cen¬ 
tral States and westward. 
Carpet-grass ( Lippia nodiflora). —One of the 
principal honey plants of central California, also 
valuable in the West Indies. Honey light-colored, of 
mild flavor. L. lanceolata and L. repens are like¬ 
wise visited by bees, but less important. See Car¬ 
pet-grass. 
Carrot ( Daucus Carota). —This weed is often 
very abundant in the fields and by the roadsides. 
In the East it does not often give a surplus, but in 
the Sacramento Valley, California, it yields a white 
honey with the flavor of the foliage, which granu¬ 
lates in a few months. 
Cascara sagrada.—See Buckthorn. 
Cassia.—The species of Cassia bear pollen flow¬ 
ers. The partridge pea (C. Chamaeclirista) , how¬ 
ever, lias extra-floral nectaries on the leaf stems, 
which yield large quantities of nectar for more 
than 100 days. This species is common in the 
sonthqrn States, and in northern Florida; the 
woods for miles are yellow with the blossoms; honey 
light amber, very clear and thin, but with a strong 
flavor. Wild senna ( C. marylandica) also has extra- 
floral nectaries. 
Catnip ( Nepeta Cataria). —Secretes nectar freely 
under cultivation, but quality of honey unknown. 
See Catnip. 
Cat’s-ear ( Hypochaeris radicata) .■ —California 
dandelion. A weed naturalized from Europe, and 
common in California from Marin County to Hum¬ 
boldt County; also abundant in Oregon and Wash¬ 
ington west of the Cascades. An amber-colored 
honey, which darkens the honey from willow-herb. 
Catsclaw ( Acacia Greggii). —From the Rio 
Grande Plain to southern California. A bushy 
shrub or small tree, 15 to 20 feet tall, armed with 
curved spines. Blooms early in May. Honey 
white and of the finest quality. Paradise flower. 
Devil's Claws. See Catsclaw'. 
Celery ( Apium graveolens). —Yields a surplus in 
the truck gardens along the lower Sacramento Riv¬ 
er, California. The honey at first has the odor of 
the plant. 
Century Plant ( Agave americana). —Extensively 
cultivated in Mexico under the name of maguey. 
The immense flower-clusters yield nectar copiously 
and are visited by hundreds of bees. It thrives on 
semiarid land, and blooms after 10 or more years. 
Chapman’s Honey Plant.—See Globe Thistle. 
Chamise ( Adenostoma fascicvlatum). —Grease- 
wood. An evergreen spreading bush, 10 feet tall, 
forming dense thickets on the foothills of the Coast 
Ranges. Honey light-colored, of good body, with a 
rank flavor. An unreliable honey plant. 
Cherry (Prunus). —The cherries, of which there 
are many species, are nectariferous. In Florida the 
black cherry ( Prunus serotina) is the source of a 
dark-red, bitter honey with the flavor of the cherry 
pit; a very little of it spoils the first orange honey. 
In Sacramento County, Calif., one of the most 
valuable honey-producers among cultivated fruit 
trees is P. cerasus. 
China-berry.—See Soapberry. 
Chinaquapin (Castanea pumila and C. nana) .■—- 
Reported to yield a thick dark honey resembling 
molasses in color and suggestive of it in flavor. 
Blooms in early spring. Florida to Louisiana. 
Clethra.—See Pepperbush. 
Clover.—The genus Trifolium contains about 250 
species, of which some 65 occur in North America. 
