518 
HONEY PLANTS 
species covers tens of thousands of acres; honey 
amber, of good quality, but granulates quickly.” 
Squash (Cucurbita maxima). —Nectar abundant 
in a little reservoir at the bottom of the flower. 
Star Thistle ( Centaur ea solstitialis). — Very, 
abundant in grain fields in S'onoma, Napa, and 
Solano Counties and northward in the Sacramento 
Valley. Rapidly spreading. Blooming from early 
summer until frost. Honey white, very mild in 
flavor, and heavy bodied. The plant is well adapted 
to arid soils. Napa thistle or tocalote (C. meliten- 
sis) , first introduced at Napa, yields a light amber 
honey in Sacramento County. 
Stinkweed (Wislizenia refracta) .■—A rank-scent¬ 
ed annual, abundant in the San Joaquin Valley, 
Calif. A mild water-white honey, becoming paste¬ 
like after granulation. Blooms heavily every other 
year, from August to October. A large surplus is 
sometimes obtained. A most promising honey plant, 
called by local beekeepers “Jackass Clover.” 
Sumac (Rhus glabra). —New England and south- 
westward. A surplus in Connecticut; honey bright 
amber; very heavy, but at first has a bitter odor 
and flavor which disappear as it ripens; waxes in¬ 
stead of granulating. Mountain sumac (R. copallina) 
yields a surplus in Georgia and Texas. R. diversi- 
loba is common tbruout California. See Sumac. 
Sunflower (Helianthus annuus). —Common, wild 
in the West; yields a surplus of amber-colored 
honey with a characteristic flavor. 
Sweet Clover ( Melilotus alba and M. officinalis). 
—Introduced from Europe; white and yellow sweet 
clover are spreading thruout the entire country. 
Honey white, with a slight greenish cast hardly 
equal to white clover honey. See Sweet Clover. 
Sweet Fennel ( Foeniculum vulgare). —Cultivated 
from Europe, and escaped in waste land. Honey 
light amber. 
Tarweed (Hemizonia fasciculata). —Along the 
coast of southern California. Honey dark amber, 
with a strong tarweed odor; granulates in a few 
months; said to be used in the manufacture of 
chewing tobacco. Yellow tarweed (H. virgata) 
yields in central California a heavy light-yellow 
honey of good flavor. 
Teasel ( Dipsaeus fullonum) .—The honey is very 
thin and white, in fact one of the whitest honeys, 
but the flavor is not as good as that of clover or 
basswood. Of minor importance. 
Teneza ( Leucacna pulverulenta). —A large tree 
growing on the rich bottomlands of the Rio Grande 
River, Texas. Valuable at Brownville; yields nec 
tar from April to September. (Syn. Acacia pulver 
ulenta.) 
Texan Ebony (Siderocarpos flexicaulis) .■— A small 
evergreen tree of southern Texas. Blooms in June, 
and yields a small surplus of good honey. If there 
is much rain it blossoms several times. (Syn. Aca¬ 
cia flexicaulis.) 
Thistle.—See Canada Thistle. 
Thyme (Thymus vulgaris). —The classical honey 
from Mount Hymettus was from this species. Nec¬ 
tar very abundant, with an - aromatic flavor. 
Thyme (Thymus Serpyllum). —There are many 
acres in the Berkshire Hills, Mass. Yields a sur¬ 
plus. Honey good, with an aromatic flavor. 
Tie Vine (Ipomoea trifida). —A common honev 
plant in southeast Texas. Grows only on black 
land. Blooms in September. At Victoria yields an 
amber-colored honey, with a mild flavor. 
Titi, Black (Cliftonia monophylla). —Spring titi. 
Buckwheat-tree. An evergreen shrub or small tree 
growing in swamps from South Carolina to Florida 
and Louisiana. It blooms in March and April, and 
yields an amber-colored honey of medium quality, 
which injures the honey from gallberry and tupelo. 
The small white flowers are in terminal racemes. It 
often forms dense thickets known as titi swamps. 
Titi, White (Cyrilla racemiflora). —Red titi. Ivory 
bush. Leather-wood. Summer titi. Like the black 
titi this species belongs to the titi family or Cyrilla- 
ceae. An evergreen shrub, or small tree found in 
swamps from Virginia to Florida and Texas. It 
blooms in June, and while it yields less nectar than 
spring titi it is valuable for maintaining brood¬ 
rearing and may yield a small surplus. The honey 
is dark amber and has a decided flavor which be¬ 
comes milder with age. 
Tobacco (Nicotiana Tabacum). —In Connecticut 
the plants are permitted to flower and seed. From 
the first of August to frost there are hundreds of 
acres to tobacco flowers covered with bees. The 
honey is reported to be of fair qualify. 
Tornillo (Strombocarpa odorata). —Screw bean. 
A small tree growing from western Texas to Cali¬ 
fornia. Common in the river valleys of New Mex¬ 
ico. Spikes of yellow flowers in April. Valuable 
for brood-rearing. (Syn. Prosopis pubescens.) 
Tulip tree (Liriodendron Tulipifera). —White 
poplar, Whitewood. Common in the southern 
States, blooms in April and May; honey bright am¬ 
ber when new, but becomes darker with "age and 
very thick, of fair quality. See Tulip Tree. 
Tupelo (Nyssa ).—There are 5 species in North 
America, 4 are trees and one a shrub. The flowers 
are small and greenish and appear with the leaves. 
White tupelo (Nyssa aquatica) is also called white 
gum and water tupelo. In river swamps from Vir¬ 
ginia to Florida and Texas. A nearly white honey, 
very heavy in body, and mild in flavor, -which does 
not granulate. Black tupelo (N. biflora) is also 
known as black gum. In swamps from Virginia to 
Florida and Louisiana. The honey is similar to 
that of white tupelo. Ogeche plum (N. Ogeche) is 
peculiar to the swamps of South Carolina, Georgia, 
and Florida. Ogeche lime. Black tupelo. A white 
honey like that of the other tupelos. Highland tu¬ 
pelo or sour gum (N. sylvatica) is a large forest 
tree growing in moist upland woods from Maine to 
Florida and Texas. The largest of the tupelos. Bee¬ 
keepers often fail to distinguish between this spe¬ 
cies and black tupelo. Bush tupelo (N. acuminata) 
is peculiar to the swamps near the coast of Georgia. 
Turkey Mullein (Eremocarpus setigerus.) — 
“Woolly white drought weed.” Abundant in the 
fall in dry grain fields of the Sacramento and San 
Joaquin Valleys. Honey amber-colored. 
Varnish Tree (Ailanthus glandulosa). —Tree of 
heaven, Chinese sumac. Small greenish flowers; 
the staminate are ill scented, and the honey has a 
bad flavor. 
Velvet Bean (Mucuna utilis). —There are about 
five million acres of this legume grown in the 
southeastern States. A light amber honey of mild 
flavor. 
Verbena or Vervain (Verbena ).—Once or twice 
in 30 years at Center Point, Iowa, purple vervain 
(Verbena hastata) has been so abundant as to give 
the landscape a bluish tinge. The honey is white, 
mild-flavored, resembling white clover honey; it 
does not granulate quickly. The purple pollen gives 
the comb a bluish tinge. In California V. prostrata 
is of value along the coast. 
Vetch (Vicia sativa). —Sand or winter vetch is 
a hardv forage plant. The flowers have a corolla- 
tube 12 mm. long and are adapted to bumblebees. 
Many species of Vicia have extra-floral nectaries on 
the under side of the leaf-stems, which secrete nectar 
in sunny weather. In Oregon these extra-floral nec¬ 
taries yield a large amount of a white heavy honey 
difficult to extract. 
Vine Maple (Acer cercinatum) ,—Mainly west of 
