HONEY PLANTS 
517 
eight inches tall, to November, when it is 8 Or 10 
feet high. The small flowers are purple. Belongs 
to the mint family, or Labiatae. 
Rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus nauseosus). - — The 
small yellow flowers are in ample flat-topped clus¬ 
ters. In Inyo County, California, it yields a dark 
honey which has an odor and taste so nauseous 
that even the Indians will not eat it. There are 
many species of rabbitbrush in the western States. 
The honey is dark yellow, poor in quality, and 
granulates quickly. The flowers appear in the 
fall. t 
Raspberry ( Rubus idaeus, variety aculeatissi- 
mtis.) —Very common in northern Michigan; a 
white honey of the finest flavor. See Raspberry. 
Rattan ( Berchemia scandens).- —In Texas, in fa¬ 
vorable seasons, yields a surplus of dark-amber 
honey used for manufacturing purposes. 
Red Bay ( Persea Borbonia). —In swamps along 
streams near the coast, from Virginia to Florida 
westward to Texas. The yellowish flowers open 
from March to May. The honey is dark and strong. 
Tisswood. Sweet bay. Laurel-tree. Florida ma¬ 
hogany. 
Red Bud ( Cercis canadensis). — Judas-tree. The 
pink purple flowers appear from March to May be¬ 
fore the leaves and are valuable for early brood- 
rearing. Of wide occurrence in rich soil east of 
the Mississippi River. The Texas red bud and the. 
California red bud are of minor importance in 
Texas and California. 
Red Clover ( Trifolium pratense). —A bumblebee 
flower. In dry seasons the corolla-tubes are so 
short that honeybees secure a surplus from the 
bloom, and sometimes in wet seasons. 
Red gum (Eucalyptus rostrata ).—Nectar abund¬ 
ant; a promising species. See Eucalyptus. 
Retama ( Parkinsonia aculeata) . — Horse bean. A 
small tree or shrub. The fragrant light yellow flow¬ 
ers open in spring, but may appear at any time. 
Does not yield a surplus, but the bloom is attract¬ 
ive to bees. 
Rockbrush ( Eysenhardtia amorphoides). — A 
branching shrub growing on the dry plains of 
southern Texas and northern Mexico. Blooms in 
spring and yields a good crop of fine honey. 
Rhododendron.-—'Bumblebee flowers. The flame- 
colored azalea (R. calendulaceum) is very abund¬ 
ant on the mountain slopes of North Carolina. The 
honey is reported to cause nausea and dizziness. At 
Divide, West Virginia, great quantities of nectar 
in large drops have been observed dropping from 
the flowers, but not a single bee was observed gath¬ 
ering it. The nectar was very sweet and pleasant 
to the taste. See Poisonous Honey. 
Rocky Mountain Bee Plant ( Cleome serrulata) .■— 
Grows widely over the plains east of the Rocky 
Mountains. It was formerly of great value in 
Colorado, but is at present much less abundant. 
The honey is light colored and has a fair flavor. 
Royal Palm ( Oreodoxa regia). — 'Honey light am¬ 
ber, very thin, and a strong unpleasant flavor. 
Florida, Cuba, and Porto Rico. 
Sage (Salvia).- —Black or button sage (S. melli- 
fera) is one of the chief honey plants in California; 
honey, thick, white, of delicious flavor, not inclined 
to candy. Purple or white-leaved sage ( Salvia leu- 
cnphylla) yields a similar honey, but is less abund¬ 
ant. White sage (S. apiana), tho one of the com¬ 
monest, does not yield nectar as freely as the two 
above-named species, but the honey is equally good. 
Creeping sage (S. sonomensis) is common in the 
mountains and S'ierra foothills. The honey is of 
about the same quality as black sage. Annual 
sage (S. rnlvmbariae) yields a surplus of excellent 
honey in Monterey County, Calif. The lance-leaved 
gage (S, lanceo\ata) is listed as a honey plant in 
Nebraska, and the blue sage (S. azurea) in Texas. 
Many species of sage are adapted to bumblebees, 
or in South America to honey-sucking birds, and 
the nectar cannot be obtained by honeybees. See 
Sage. 
Sainfoin ( Onobrychis sativa). — Cultivated for 
hay or fodder. Honey similar to that of white 
clover. See Sainfoin. 
Saw Palmetto (Serenoa serrulata).- — This species 
closely resembles scrub palmetto. The two species 
usually bloom at the same time and the honey is 
generally mixed. North Carolina to Florida and 
Texas. 
Sea Grape ( Coccolobis uvifera). — A small tree 
or shrub with twisted branches. Common in south¬ 
ern Florida. At Sarasota it is reported to yield 
much nectar. Buckwheat family. 
Scrub Palmetto ( Sabal megacarpa) .- — Honey lem¬ 
on yelloVv, thick and heavy, with an aromatic flavor 
and odor. Granulates quickly. Common on sandy 
soil over the southern two-thirds of Florida. Flow¬ 
ers small, white, in a branched drooping cluster 3 
feet long. 
Silver Wattle (Acacia dealbata). — Silver wattle 
and black wattle (A. decurrens) are planted exten¬ 
sively for ornament in California. They furnish 
much pollen in January and February. 
Simpson’s Honey Plant.—See Figwort. 
Smartweed.—See Heartsease. 
Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale). — Swamp 
sunflower; in wet land and thruout the eastern 
States. Honeybees gather both nectar and pollen. 
In Texas, bitterweed (H. tenuifolium) yields a 
golden-yellow honey of heavy body, but very bitter, 
“as if 50 per cent quinine and some pepper were 
added.’’ 
Snowberry (Symphoricarpus racemosus).- —A 
northern shrub, Nova Scotia to Alaska and south¬ 
ward to Pennsylvania. A large amount of fine 
honey is obtained from the bloom in Iowa. 
Snow-vine (Gissus arborea). — Pepper-vine. In 
wet land from Virginia to Florida and Texas. A 
bushy vine with pinnate leaves. At Doctortown, 
Georgia, yields a dark amber honey of fair quality 
for 6 weeks. Bees prefer the bloom to that of cot¬ 
ton. 
Soapberry (Sapindus Drummondii). —Wild China. 
China-berry. A tree common along creeks in Lou¬ 
isiana, Texas, and New Mexico. Yields nectar 
freely. Two other species of soapberry are found 
in Florida. 
Soapbush (Porliera angustifolia). —In Uvalde 
County, Texas, bees store honey from this shrub in 
very dry .seasons. The large purple flowers open 
in April. Honey white, and has a good flavor, but 
granulates quickly. 
Sourwood (Oxydendron arboreum). —A splendid 
honey-producer. The nectar is so abundant that, it 
can be shaken from the blossoms; a white honey, 
with an aromatic flavor, that does not candy readily. 
See Sourwood. 
Spanish Needles (Bidens aristosa). — Marshy 
lands of Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. Honey 
golden-yellow, of fine flavor and good body. See 
Spanish Needles. 
Spider-plant (Cleome spinosa, formerly called C. 
pungens). —Introduced from tropical America; cul¬ 
tivated ; escaped in waste places from Illinois to 
Louisiana. Thirteen flowers have yielded a spoon¬ 
ful of nectar. “Under favorable conditions one of 
the most remarkable honey plants in the world.” 
The Rocky Mountain bee plant (G. serrulata, for¬ 
merly called C. integrifolia) grows in dry saline soil 
from Minnesota to Kansas, and westward among 
the mountains. 
Spikeweed (Centromadia pvngens). — "On the al¬ 
kaline plains of the upper San Joaquin (Calif.) this 
