Chapter C: CABBAGE (Brassica oleracea)

Cabbage belongs to a group of valuable honey plants, including mustard, turnip, etc. In the seed belt of California, where grown for seed on a large scale, cabbage is valuable. The late J. S. Harbison said of it:

“Cabbage blossoms afford a considerable amount of honey of a fine
quality and flavor.”--Beekeeper’s Directory.

CACTUS, see Prickly Pear.

CALICO BUSH, see Laurel.

CALIFORNIA HOLLY, see Christmas Berry.

CALIFORNIA--Honey Sources of.

Honey plants yielding a surplus during an average season:

Yucca (=Hesperoyucca whipplei=).
Willow (=Salix sp.=).
Wild buckwheat (=Eriogonum fasciculatum=).
=Berberis pinnata.=
Black mustard (=Brassica nigra=).
English mustard (=Brassica sp.=).
Rocky Mountain honey plant (=Cleome integrifolia=).
Jackass clover (=Wislizenia refracta=).
Christmas berry (=Heteromeles arbutifolia=).
Pear (=Pyrus communis=).
Apple (=Pyrus malus=).
Wild alfalfa (=Lotus glaber=).
Bur clover (=Medicago denticulata=).
Alfalfa (=Medicago sativa=).
White sweet clover (=Melilotus alba=).
Yellow sweet clover (=Melilotus officinalis=).
Lima bean (=Phaseolus lunatus=).
Alfilerilla (=Erodium cicutarium=).
White stem filaree (=Erodium moschatum=).
Orange (=Citrus aurantium=).
Tree of heaven (=Ailanthus glandulosa=).
Poison oak (=Rhus diversiloba=).
(Laurel) Sumac (=Rhus laurina=).
Pepper tree (=Schinus molle=).
California buckeye (=Aesculus californica=).
Coffee berry (=Rhamnus californica=).
Cascara sagrada (=Rhamnus purshiana=).
Wild hollyhock (=Sidalcea malvaeflora=).
Prickly pear (=Opuntia lindheimeri occidentalis=).
Lemon scented gum (=Eucalyptus citriodora=).
White stringy-bark (=Eucalyptus eugenioides=).
Blue Gum (=Eucalyptus globulus=).
Red gum (=Eucalyptus rostrata=).
Manna gum (=Eucalyptus viminalis=).
Blue thistle (=Cryngium articulatum=).
Manzanita (=Arctostaphylos=).
Yerba santa (=Eriodictyon trichocalix=).
Caterpillar phacelia (=Phacelia hispida=).
Valley vervenia (=Phacelia tenacetifolia=).
Carpet grass (=Lippia nodiflora=).
Horehound (=Marrubium vulgare=).
Peppermint (=Mentha spicata=).
White sage (=Salvia apiana=).
Thistle sage (=Salvia carduacea=).
Annual sage (=Salvia columbariae=).
Purple sage (=Salvia leucophylla=).
Black sage (=Salvia mellifera=).
Creeping sage (=Salvia sonomensis=).
Blue curls (=Trichostema lanceolatum=).
Button willow (=Cephalanthus occidentalis=).
Napa thistle (=Centaurea melitensis=).
Spike weed (=Centromadia pungens=).
Bull thistle (=Cirsium lanceolatum=).
Common sunflower (=Helianthus annuus=).
Coast tarweed (=Hemizonia corymbosa=).
Tarweed (=Hemizonia fasciculata=).
Yellow tarweed (=Hemizonia virgata=).
“Yellow Tops” (=Hemizonia=).
Goldenrod (=Solidago occidentalis=).
Rabbit brush (white) (=Chrysothamnus nauseosus hypolluca=).

Cultivated plants that would rank with the above had they a wider distribution:

Common century plant (=Agave americana=).
White clover (=Trifolium repens=).
American linden (=Tilia americana=).
Tamarisk (=Tamaris=, =Eucalyptus calophylla=).
Yate tree (=Eucalyptus cornuta=).
Sugar gum (=Eucalyptus corynocalyx=).
Cider gum (=Eucalyptus Gunnii=, =Eucalyptus Lehmannii=).
White ironbark (=Eucalyptus leucoxylon=).
Spotted gum (=Eucalyptus maculata=).
Honey scented gum (=Eucalyptus ficifolia=).
Red boxtree (=Eucalyptus polyanthemos=).
Red mahogany gum (=Eucalyptus resinifera=).
Swamp mahogany gum (=Eucalyptus robusta=).
Broad leaved ironbark (=Eucalyptus siderophloia=).
Victoria ironbark (=Eucalyptus sideroxylon=).
Apple scented gum (=Eucalyptus Stuartiana=).
Forest gray gum (=Eucalyptus tereticornia=).

Honey plants occasionally yielding a surplus:

Asparagus (=Asparagus officinalis=).
Live oak (=Quercus agrifolia=).
Blue oak (=Quercus douglassii=).
Valley oak (=Quercus lobata=).
Mistletoe (=Phoradendron=).
Common mustard (=Brassica campestris=).
Wild radish (=Raphanus sativus=, =Escallonia montevidensis=).
Wild currant (=Ribes sanguineum=).
Greasewood (=Adenostoma fasciculatum=).
Castor oil plant (=Ricinus communis=).
Islay or holly leaved cherry (=Cerasus illicifolia=).
Bitter almond (=Prunus amygdalus=).
Apricot (=Prunus amygdalus=).
Apricot (=Prunus armeniaca=).
Cherry (=Prunus cerasus=).
Plum and prune (=Prunus domestica=).
Peach (=Prunus persica=).
Raspberry (=Rubus strigosus=).
Cultivated blackberry (=Rubus villosus=).
Himalayan berry (=Rubus villosus var.=).
Common wild blackberry (=Rubus vitifolius=).
Black wattle (=Acacia decurrens mollis=).
Golden wattle (=Acacia pycnantha=).
Rattleweed (=Astragalus=).
Yellow sweet clover (=Melilotus indica=).
Locust (=Robinia pseudo-acacia=).
Sour clover (=Trifolium fucatum=).
Alsike (=Trifolium hybridum=).
Gorse (=Ulex europaeus=).
Mandarin (=Citrus nobilis=, =Croton californicus=).
Turkey mullein (=Eremocarpus setigerus=, =Ceanothus cuneatus=).
Wild lilac (=Ceanothus=, =Rhamnus corcea=).
Grape (=Vitis vinifera=).
Cotton (=Gossypium herbaceum=, =Godetia bottae=).
California waterweed (=Jussiaea californica=).
Sweet fennel (=Foeniculum vulgare=).
Madrona (=Arbutus menziesii=).
Oregon ash (=Fraxinus oregona=).
Olive (=Olea europaea=).
Morning glory (=Convolvulus arvensis=, =Gilia chamissonis=).
Hill vervenia (=Phacelia distans=, =Phacelia ramosissima=).
Heliotrope (=Heliotropium=).
Lawn plant (=Lippia repens=).
Wild verbena (=Verbena prostrata=).
Yerba Buena (=Micromeria chamissonis=).
Hedge nettle (=Stachys bullata=).
California figwort (=Scrophularia californica=).
Simpson’s honey plant (=Scrophularia vernalis=).
Watermelon (=Citrullus vulgaris=).
Cantaloupe (=Cucumis mello=).
Cucumber (=Cucumis sativus=).
Winter squash (=Cucurbita moschata=).
Pumpkin (=Cucurbita pepo=).
Globe artichoke (=Cynara Scolymus=).
Jerusalem artichoke (=Helianthus tuberosus=).
Mayweed (=Anthemis cotula=).
Beggar ticks (=Bidens frondosa=).
Spanish needle (=Bidens pilosa=, =Coreopsis gigantea=).

Cultivated plants that would rank with the above had they a wider distribution:

Mignonette (=Reseda odorata=).
White tree clover (=Cystisus proliferus=, =Melilotus bicolor=).
Poinsettia (=Euphorbia pulcherrima=).

Honey plants not known to yield a surplus:

Corn (=Zea mays=).
Tanbark oak (=Quercus densiflora=).
Virgin’s bower (=Clematis ligusticifolia=, =Clematis=).
California laurel (=Umbellularia californica=).
California poppy (=Eschscholtzia californica=).
Cream cups (=Platystemon californicus=).
Canyon gooseberry (=Ribes menziesii=).
(Western) chokecherry (=Cerasus demissa=).
Rose (=Rosa californica=).
Wild sweet pea (=Lathyrus splendens=).
Lupin (=Lupinus affinis=).
Nonesuch (=Medicago lupulina=).
Red clover (=Trifolium pratense=).
Spring vetch (=Vicia sativa=).
Maple (=Acer negundo=).
Virginia creeper (=Ampelopsis quinquefolia=).
California wild grape (=Vitis californica=).
Small flowered mallow (=Malva parviflora=).
White mallow (=Malva sylvestris=, =Helianthemum scoparium=).
Milkweed (=Asclepias mexicana=).
Milkweed (=Asclepias speciosa=).
Dodder (=Cuscuta=).
Common heliotrope (=Heliotropium curassavicum=).
=Tournefortia heliotropoides.=
Tule mint (=Mentha canadensis=).
Pennyroyal (=Monardella lanceolata=).
Loving sage (=Salvia amabilis=).
Winter savory (=Satureia montana=).
=Stachys ajugoides.=
=Stachys albens.=
=Veronica andersonii.=
Common plantain (=Plantego major=).
Wild honeysuckle (=Lonicera=).
Blue elderberry (=Sambucus glauca=).
Cornflower (=Centaurea cyanus=), =Encelia californica=, =Eriophyllum
confertiflorum=, =Heterotheca grandiflora=, =Malacothris saxatilis=.
Common sow thistle (=Sonchus oleraceus=, =Sonchus maruanthus=).

--M. C. Richter, Bulletin 217, Agricultural Experiment Station, Cal.

CALIFORNIA POPPY, see Poppy.

CAMPANILLA (Ipomoea).

The campanillas, or Christmas bells, are plants similar to our American morning-glory, which are common to Cuba and adjacent countries. The vines are perennial and grow to considerable size, covering wayside fences, trees, etc. The name Christmas bells, applied to white bellflower, comes from the fact that the height of the blooming period is reached near the holiday season. There are two species, known as white campanilla (=Ipomoea sidaefolia=), and the pink bellflower (=Ipomoea triloba=). The latter blooms a month or two before the white variety.

The honey, according to Root’s A B C, is equal to alfalfa or sage in color and flavor, the comb built during a campanilla flow being pearly white and the wax, when melted, as white as tallow.

CAMPHOR WEED, see Blue Curls.

CANADA THISTLE (Carduus arvensis).

The Canada thistle is a most troublesome weed, naturalized from Europe and widely spread through Eastern America. It is a perennial plant, growing from one to two feet high. The roots creep extensively, thus gradually spreading the plant to surrounding areas. It is very persistent and difficult to eradicate. It is common in fields, pastures and along roadsides.

It is the source of a light honey of good quality. It is most frequently reported as a source of surplus in Ontario and the Eastern States.

CANADIAN HEMP, see Dogbane.

CARPET GRASS (Lippia).

The carpet grass of California (=Lippia repens=) is a native of Chili which has been introduced on the Pacific Coast and widely cultivated as a lawn plant. It is known as lawn plant, carpet grass and lippia. It is much sought by the bees and is the source of some honey, a surplus of two cases per colony being not unusual, according to C. D. Stuart. The honey, he states, is light amber, heavy body, and similar in quality to alfalfa. The plant is of trailing habit, spreading by rooting of runners like strawberries. Fig. 34.

=Lippia nodiflora=, mat grass or fog fruit, is native to California, and, according to Richter, is the principal source of surplus honey in the vicinity of Sacramento. Three-fourths of the surplus honey from Sutter County he reports as from this source. There it begins to bloom in May and lasts till frost. According to Jepson, the plant is esteemed as a covering for levees, to resist erosion. It is especially valuable on overflowed lands after the water recedes. The honey is said to be light in color, mild in flavor, and to granulate readily.

CARROT (Daucus carota).

The carrot is a well-known garden vegetable which came from Europe and is everywhere cultivated in gardens. It has escaped and become naturalized over a wide scope of country. It yields some honey, and where grown on a large scale for seed or for the roots, it is valuable for the bees.

We quote Richter as follows:

“Honey white, with a characteristic flavor, and granulating within
a few months after extraction. A most excellent yielder in the
Sacramento Valley, where it is considered to surpass the onion as a
honey plant.”--Honey Plants of California.

CASCARA SAGRADA, see Buckthorn.

CASSIA, see Partridge Pea.

CASTOR BEAN (Ricinus communis).

The castor bean, or castor oil plant, is often cultivated for the oil contents of the beans. Large areas were planted during the late war, especially in Texas. The plant has escaped from cultivation and become naturalized in the Southeastern States. It is generally planted for ornament over a large scope of country. It is reported as very attractive to the bees and of some value for honey, where sufficiently abundant. Scholl lists it in the Texas bulletin as yielding well in favorable seasons. Richter lists it also for California.

CASTOR OIL PLANT, see Castor Bean.

CATALPA (Catalpa speciosa).

The catalpa tree produces a great profusion of bloom. The blossoms are so large that a bee can readily crawl right into the heart of the flower.

The testimony of competent observers gives an unqualified indorsement of the catalpa as a nectar producer, though there is slight mention of it in our literature. The fact that large areas of these trees are being planted for timber, in many places, makes them of special interest to the beekeeper. The catalpa, or Indian bean (=Catalpa speciosa=) is a native of the woodlands of southern Indiana and Tennessee, west to Arkansas. This form, known as the hardy catalpa, is also widely planted in Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska and other States. There is another similar species closely resembling it which occurs further south, and is common in the Gulf States.

The leaves are heart-shaped and the blossoms are large, nearly white, and grow in large clusters, as shown in Fig. 35. The tree grows very rapidly furnishing desirable timber for fence posts, telephone poles, railroad ties, etc. In Kansas, large areas have been planted by the railroad companies for the purpose of growing ties. Beekeepers situated near such plantings should find the trees of material value.

CATNIP (Nepeta Cataria).

Catnip, or catmint, was introduced from Europe, and cultivated in herb gardens. It is thus an escaped introduction and has become very widely naturalized in the United States, although it is generally considered a weed. It is usually found only in the vicinity of buildings and gardens, and seldom spreads into the fields to any extent. Almost all or us remember the popularity of catnip tea among the grandmothers of an earlier generation. The plant is a perennial, growing from 2 to 3 feet high, with flowers in clusters, the more conspicuous ones being in a terminal spike. The blooming season is rather long, and the bees visit it very freely. Apparently, the plant yields much nectar, although it is seldom present in sufficient quantity to test its real value as a honey producer. If it had sufficient value for other purposes to justify its cultivation, it would probably be an important source of nectar.

CATSCLAW, see Acacia.

CAT’S EAR (Hypochaeris radicata).

Cat’s ear, sometimes called California dandelion, is abundant west of the Cascade Mountains in Washington and south to California. It is a naturalized European weed in pastures and fields, blooming in midsummer. According to H. A. Scullen, it supplies considerable nectar in Washington. It is amber color and in some localities darkens the fireweed honey.

CELASTRUS Scandens, see Bittersweet.

CELERY (Apium graveolens).

The blossoms of the cultivated celery yield nectar abundantly, and where grown for seed, it is a valuable source of honey. In the seed belt of California it yields well, as the following will indicate:

“I saw the hives stacked five or six high and on opening them we
found them jammed full of honey; in fact, the bees should have had
room long before, but Mr. Gear had had difficulty in getting help,
and the bees had got ahead of him. The colonies were so crowded that
the space between the frames and the tops of the hives were built
full of burr combs. All this honey was from celery and parsnip.
* * * On our arrival at the field it was easy to see that there was
honey in the blossoms. In the sunlight the little drops of nectar
gleamed like myriads of little diamonds. * * * I tasted some of the
raw nectar from the celery. Sure enough, there was quite a strong
suggestion of celery flavor.”--E. R. Root, Gleanings, Nov., 1919,
page 712.

CENTAUREA.

There are several species of centaurea which yield nectar. The common corn-flower of the gardens (=Centaurea Cyanus=), also known as blue-bottle, bluet, ragged sailor or batchelor’s button, is a good honey plant. The bees work upon it from morning till night, though it is seldom sufficiently abundant to be important as a source of surplus. Richter lists this species from California as commonly cultivated. He also lists the Napa thistle, or tacalote (=Centaurea melitensis=), as yielding some honey of light amber color, good flavor and fair body. This species is known in the southeastern States as Lombardy star thistle. (See Star Thistle.)

CENTURY PLANT (Agave).

The agaves are an important group of long-lived perennial plants native to Tropical America, Mexico and, to some extent, to the southwestern United States. Each plant has a cluster of numerous fleshy leaves and, when blooming, a tall flower stalk. There are at least five species native to the United States. The range is southern New Mexico, Arizona and California. The best known is the common century plant (=Agave americana=), an introduced species, cultivated for ornament. This is a conspicuous figure of ornamental planting in southern California.

In Mexico some species of agaves furnish fibre, while others are the source of pulque and mescal, intoxicating drinks much used in the country below the Rio Grande.

The plants do not bloom until they are several years old. The flower stalks grow very rapidly and reach a height of 25 or 30 feet within a few weeks’ time. When in bloom they secrete nectar in abundance, and the bees swarm over them in great numbers. As will be seen by the illustration, the flower stalks support innumerable blossoms, so that a single plant will yield a considerable amount of honey. The fact that the plants are nowhere abundant in this country, together with the long period which must elapse before they bloom, makes it improbable that they will ever be of much importance to American beekeepers.

CEPHALANTHUS, see Button Bush.

CHAMISE, see Greasewood.

CHAPMAN HONEY PLANT (Echinops sphoerocephalus).

The Chapman honey plant was introduced from France about 1885. The bee journals of 1886 and 1887 devote a large amount of space to a discussion of this plant. It was brought prominently to the attention of American beekeepers by Hiram Chapman, of Versailles, New York, who planted about three acres of it at that place. He made such glowing reports of the plant at the National Beekeepers’ Convention that a committee of prominent men was appointed to visit the Chapman home and report on the new plant at the convention of the following year. They made a lengthy and very favorable report, which is published in full on page 28 of the American Bee Journal for January 5, 1887.

Numerous beekeepers secured seed, and so attractive did the plant prove to the bees that favorable reports appeared frequently in the columns of the journals for the next few years. However, the great expectations were not realized, for it soon disappeared, and is seldom mentioned in current literature. The following quotation from Dr. C. C. Miller, which appeared in Gleanings, in December, 1918, is probably a correct estimate of the value of the plant:

“After reading the British Bee Journal of September 26, I should
have made a vigorous effort to secure a supply of seed of =Echinops
Sphoerocephalus=, if I had no previous experience with the plant.
No bee plant that I have ever grown was so attractive to the bees.
Whenever the weather was favorable the heads were crowded. I have
counted fourteen or fifteen bees on one at the same time.”

This is the Chapman honey plant that had a big boom in this country a
number of years ago; but it is not heard of now, and is not included
among the honey plants in the bee books. Upon its introduction I
planted quite a patch of it, and like Mr. Harwood, I never saw the
bees so thick on any other plant. But close observation showed that
the bees were not in eager haste in their usual way when getting a
big yield, but were in large part idle. It looked a little as if the
plant had some kind of stupefying effect on them. At any rate, I
should not take the trouble to plant it now, if land and seed were
furnished free.

CHAYOTE (Sechium edule).

Chayote is a vegetable of the squash family, commonly grown in the American Tropics. It is found in Mexico, Cuba, Porto Rico and other countries in that latitude. There has been some discussion of the plant in the bee magazines and occasionally the plants have been grown in American gardens. That it is a valuable honey plant there can be but little doubt. J. J. Siebert, writing from Porto Rico to the American Bee Journal, says that it is all that it is claimed to be, and that as a source of nectar it has only one rival, the banana, blossoming all the year round. The following is from the U. S. Department of Agriculture. Bulletin No. 28:

“As in other vegetables of the squash family, the stamens and
pistils are in separate flowers, pollination taking place through
the agency of insects. To attract these, the flowers of both kinds,
but especially the pistillate, yield abundant nectar, which is
secreted in ten glands, two at the base of each of the lobes of the
corolla. In most of the countries into which it has been introduced,
beekeeping has not been a regular industry, and the value of the
chayote as a source of honey has not been noticed, but the reports of
experimenters in New South Wales contain very emphatic statements on
the subject:

‘When the plant is in flower I have noticed that the vines were
swarming with bees, and as flowers are scarce in the autumn, the
plant will no doubt be valuable as a honey-producer.

‘The plant, which spreads over a large area, commenced flowering
at the close of the year, and has been well laden with mellifluous
blossoms ever since. The bees are extremely fond of the chocho, and
with the apiarist the newly-introduced plant must become a strong
favorite.’

“The chayote differs from many cucurbitaceae in producing numerous
flowers on each fertile branch. It has long been known that the
flowers of this family are rich in honey, but from the standpoint of
the beekeeper they have been considered of little importance, because
seldom accessible in sufficient amount, though in the United States
fields are recognized as good bee pastures. The chayote seems to
make up by numbers what the flowers lack in size, so that the yield
of honey may be larger than in related plants. In addition to this
there is the fact that Sechium is a perennial bloomer in the Tropics,
and in the sub-tropical regions has a very long season. It is thus
possible that in the regions like parts of Florida, where beekeeping
is already an established industry, the honey-producing qualities of
the chayote may be found of practical account in connection with its
other utilities.”

CHEROKEE ROSE (Rosa laevigata).

The Cherokee rose is found from the Coast Region of the South Atlantic States westward through Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana to eastern Texas. It occurs also in California. It was in Alabama that the author first heard it mentioned as a source of nectar. Later reports from California indicated that bees sometimes find nectar from this source, though most of the roses yield only pollen. H. B. Parks states that he has observed the bees getting honey from this source, and M. B, Talley, of Victoria, Texas, states that he has observed the bees gathering nectar from it in Mississippi and also at Victoria. It is probably of little importance, unless it be as a source of pollen.

CHERRY (Prunus cerasus).

The cultivated cherry is closely related to the plum and is equally attractive to the bees. Both bloom at about the same time. In California the cherry is reported as one of the best of the fruit trees for honey production. In the East it is valued principally for stimulating early brood-rearing.

When the weather is warm and bright during its period of bloom a great variety of insects may be found on the blossoms. Bees are seldom strong enough to store surplus from cherry. (See also Wild Cherry.)

CHESTNUT (Castanea dentata).

The chestnut is an important timber tree from northern New England and Ontario to Michigan and along the mountains to Georgia. It is a tall and slender tree in the forests, but a magnificent spreading shade tree when grown with sufficient room. It sometimes reaches a height of 90 to 100 feet.

As a source of nectar it is probably nowhere important, though it yields pollen in June or July. E. E. Hasty, writing in the American Bee Journal, from Toledo, Ohio, (Sept., 1906), reports that there the bees roar on chestnut bloom, even when basswood blooms at the same time.

It is frequently listed as a source of honey, but the author can find no authoritative records of surplus stored from it.

CHINABERRY, see Wild China.

CHINA TREE (Melia azedarach).

The China tree, also known as pride of India, is a native of the Far East, probably coming from China. It has become naturalized in the Southeastern States from the Atlantic Coast to Texas. It is found as far north as Arkansas and Virginia.

H. B. Parks reports that in Texas it is a fairly good honey plant, blooming very early in the season. On account of its early blooming, it is principally valuable to stimulate early brood rearing.

This tree should not be confused with the Wild China, which see.

CHINESE SUMAC, see Varnish Tree.

CHINQUAPIN (Castanea pumila).

The chinquapin is a shrub or small tree common from New Jersey and southern Pennsylvania southward to Missouri and Texas. It is well known to the beekeepers in parts of Alabama, Georgia and north Florida, where it flowers in May. In Arkansas, it is a large tree, reaching a height of fifty feet in some cases.

In some localities beekeepers report good crops of honey from chinquapin, but the quality is inferior. It is dark and strong, with a bitter taste. Some use it for feeding to replace the better grades of honey which may be taken from the bees. In color it looks like New Orleans molasses, and a sample, in the author’s collection for several years, shows no tendency to granulation.

CHITTAM, see Buckthorn.

CHOCTAW ROOT, see Dogbane.

CHOKE CHERRY, see Wild Cherry.

CHRISTMAS BERRY, or CALIFORNIA HOLLY (Heteromeles arbutifolia).

The Christmas berry is known also as toy-on or tollon berry, as well as California holly. It is common along the streams and on the mountain-sides of California, where it flowers in June and July. It has white flowers and the bright red berries ripen in late autumn. The berries, according to C. D. Stuart, are acid and slightly astringent, though not unpleasant. He states that the berries were eaten by the Indians as a kind of salad, and that a wine-red drink is sometimes made from them after an old Spanish-Californian recipe. The plant is much used for Christmas decoration on the Pacific Coast.

According to Richter, the plant is the source of a thick amber honey of decided flavor, which candies with a coarse grain, within two or three months after extraction. He reports surplus from this source in Monterey, Colusa and Nevada Counties, California.

Jepson gives the range as “Throughout the coast ranges and Sierra Nevada, and southward to southern and Lower California. Frequent along streams and gulches in the lower hills, and also abundant on stony slopes at middle elevations, especially from Napa to Humboldt Counties.

At Visalia the author heard reports of an average of a case per colony of surplus honey from this source in the mountains.

CITRUS FRUITS, see Oranges, Lemons, Etc.

CLEMATIS.

The white clematis is commonly known by the name of virgin’s bower, but also has several other local names, such as love vine, traveler’s joy and devil’s hair. Fig. 42 shows the delicate white blossoms and the leaf, and Fig. 43 shows a mass of vines on a roadside fence.

The range of the plant is from Nova Scotia and Ontario west to Lake Winnipeg and Nebraska and south to Louisiana and Florida. It may be expected almost anywhere east of the Mississippi River. It is a slender climbing vine on the borders of woods, roadsides and hedgerows. The blossoms are white and fragrant, blooming in midsummer. It is much sought by the bees, and apparently produces considerable nectar. It is doubtful whether the plant is anywhere sufficiently abundant to make an appreciable difference in the production of the hive.

Richter, in his “Honey Plants of California,” reports a related species, the hill clematis, (=Clematis ligusticifolia=), as common in the hilly districts almost throughout California. It is said to produce “a great deal of pollen and probably some honey,” but it is not known to produce surplus. Common also in the Rocky Mountains.

CLEOME, see Rocky Mountain Bee Plant.

CLEOMELLA (Cleomella angustifola).

The Cleomella is very similar to the Rocky Mountain bee plant, or cleome. The flowers are small and yellow and the plant does not grow so tall as the cleome.

An Oklahoma beekeeper reports as follows:

“It seems to be a remarkable honey plant. It was in bloom for more
than ten weeks during the dry season, and bees worked upon it freely
every morning. The blossom is very fragrant, sweet, yellow, and is
at the branches. It keeps crowding out a new growth and blooming,
forming small purse-shaped seed pods as the blossoms drop. The growth
is much like sweet clover or yellow mustard, but forming a larger
spreading top. Some plants grow four feet tall and three feet across
and an inch through at the butt. It is an annual, and no stock will
eat it.”--M. S. Hubbell, Helena, Okla. American Bee Journal.

Cleomella is found from Nebraska to Utah and south to Texas.

CLETHRA, see Pepperbush.

CLIMBING MILKWEED, see Bluevine.

CLOVER (Trifolium).

The clovers are by far the most important American honey plants. If we include the closely related alfalfa and sweet clover, they probably are the source of more surplus honey than all the other plants together. They are to be found in nearly every part of America and yield nectar more freely than most plants. The quality of clover honey is of the best and in quantity of yield it ranks high, under favorable conditions. If the whole group was to be removed, honey production as a commercial proposition would decline to a very large degree.

Clover seems to yield most heavily in the northern part of its range and gradually declines southward. White clover is the most important of the group. Alsike is quite as valuable where equally abundant. The corolla tubes of red clover are usually too deep for the honeybee to reach the nectar, but occasionally some honey is secured from this source. (See Red Clover). Each of the clovers is considered separately. (See White Clover, Alsike, etc.)

COCKLEBUR (Xanthium canadense).

The cocklebur is a coarse weed, common in fields and waste places from Louisiana. In Texas, Scholl lists the plant as a source of pollen in clinging to clothing and to the hairs of horses and cattle.

There is an occasional report of honey from this source, especially from Louisiana. In Texas, Scholl lists the plant as a source of pollen in late fall.

COFFEE BERRY, see Buckthorn.

COLIMA (Xanthoxylum pterota).

Colima is a species of prickly ash common to the valley of the lower Rio Grande River. It is a small shrub with zigzag branches, armed with short curved thorns. The flowers are in axillary clusters.

Colima is reported as yielding but a light flow, of principal value for stimulative purposes. At Mathis, Texas, Wm. Atchley reports that he had a good surplus flow from colima in 1900. The honey was golden and very thick, weighing 12¹⁄₂ pounds to the gallon. The flavor was good. Although he kept bees in that vicinity for a number of years he secured surplus from Colima but the one time. (See also Prickly Ash).

COLORADO--Honey Plants of.

Practically all surplus is secured from alfalfa and sweet clover, with an occasional crop from cleome. The rosin weed (=Grindelia squarrosa=) yields considerable honey of low grade which often spoils the grade of the white honey by being mixed in the supers. Narcissus, parsley and prairie clover are prairie plants which attract the bees freely. Wild onion yields some honey. Dandelion and fruit bloom are important for spring brood rearing and canteloupes yield some surplus in the Rock Ford region. Sunflowers, mentzelia, lupines and loco weeds add something to the sum total brought to the hives. The white clematis is very common along the streams, as are willows. Wild currant is common in the mountain canyons. =Gaura coccinea=, the red gaura or ragged lady, is much sought by the bees for both honey and pollen. Oreocarya is a desert plant which yields surplus, but which is rapidly disappearing through cultivation of the land on which it grows.

COLUMBO, see Monument Plant.

COMA (Bumelia lycioides).

Coma is the Mexican name for southern buckthorn (=Bumelia lycioides=), which is found from Florida north to Virginia and west to Texas. It is also known as ironwood. It is a spiny shrub with flowers in dense clusters. In South Texas it is also known as coma and is frequently reported as an important source of honey. It blooms there from October to February and produces nectar freely. At Rio Hondo, in the lower Rio Grande Valley, beekeepers reported to the author that a flow of six weeks from coma, from September to November, was common, and that swarms issuing as late as December had gathered sufficient honey from this source to carry them through. The honey is said to be light amber in color and of good quality. The flow varies greatly, depending upon the rains. (See also Gum-elastic.)

CONE FLOWER (Rudbeckia).

The cone flowers, also called golden glow, are not often mentioned as honey plants, yet the bees visit them freely and apparently they are the source of some nectar. The plants are widely distributed east of the Missouri River and are probably of limited local importance.

CONNECTICUT--Honey Sources of.

The clovers, alsike and white clover, occur all over Connecticut and yield nectar freely. Goldenrod and asters are also important. Buckwheat, wild raspberry and milkweeds all yield surplus under favorable conditions. Basswood, locust maple and clethra are among the valuable trees and shrubs. Fruit bloom, willow, etc., are important in early spring. Some honey from tobacco is reported in Connecticut.

CORAL BEAN or FRIJOLILLO (Sophora secundiflora).

The coral bean is a small tree common along the streams of Texas and New Mexico, and southward to the interior of Mexico. The Mexicans call it frijolillo. The beans are said by Coulter to be used by the Indians as an intoxicant. The beans are round and red and as large as small marbles. They contain a powerful poisonous alkaloid. Some beekeepers have expressed a fear that the honey might be poisonous to the bees, though apparently there is little grounds for such fear. The tree is abundant along the Nueces River in the shade of larger timber and was yielding nectar very freely at the time of the author’s visit to that section on March 10, 1918. There had been a long dearth of nectar and the bees were extremely short of both honey and pollen. The new nectar was coming in in considerable quantity and the honey stored had a peculiar flavor. The tree is particularly abundant in the vicinity of Matagorda Bay.

CORAL BERRY, see Indian Currant.

CORAL SUMAC, see Poisonwood.

CORN, see Indian Corn.

CORNEL, see Dogwood.

CORN-ITCH, see Cow-itch.

COTTON (Gossypium herbaceum).

Although the cotton plant is found growing wild in many warm countries, in the United States it is known only as a staple field crop. It was brought to this country as early as 1621, and has been the most important plant grown on southern plantations since the early development of the country.

The plant thrives in a warm and humid climate, and needs five to six months of warm weather. However, it is grown successfully under semi-arid conditions in parts of Texas and other Southern States. The so-called cotton belt extends from the northwest corner of Texas south to the Rio Grande, and east to the Atlantic seaboard. A limited acreage is grown in California, but, excepting very restricted areas, it is not important outside the territory mentioned. Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia are perhaps the most important of the cotton-growing States. The Carolinas, Louisiana and Oklahoma also grow it in large areas.

Honey production reaches its highest development in localities where good nectar-bearing plants are grown in large acreage. Hence we find beekeeping thriving in dairy communities, where alsike and white clover are grown abundantly. We also find the beekeepers prosperous where alfalfa is an important crop. In the Southern States, cotton is the one field crop grown on a sufficient scale to offer ideal conditions for the beekeeper. However, cotton is fickle in its behavior, and cannot always be depended upon to produce nectar, no matter how abundant the crop. In some cotton-growing districts the beekeepers swear by cotton, while in other localities they declare that it is of little value. The character of the soil seems to be a very important factor in the secretion of nectar by this plant. The vigor of the growth and the amount of available plant food in the soil are also important. Reports from different sections indicate that the quality of the honey varies in different sections.

W. D. Null, of Demopolis, Ala., wrote to the author as follows:

“This, you know, was for sixty years the heaviest cotton-growing
section in the nation. Bees will not work cotton if they can work
anything else, even bitterweed. It yields honey of very poor quality,
and never very much, some years none at all. Weather conditions must
be just right, and that don’t come often. The honey is the same grade
as the most honeydews.”

In contrast, we find the following report of good honey and abundant yield in American Bee Journal for 1907, page 267:

“Cotton blossoms furnish a great deal of excellent honey, and
the theory that it explodes or ferments is all bosh. It makes an
excellent rich honey, oily, and it is not liked so well by some until
they get used to it.”--Jules Belknap, M. D., Sulphur Springs, Ark.

When the writer made his first trip through Georgia he was much puzzled by the different reports of apparently good observers in different parts of the State. The matter was finally explained by a beekeeper who had lived in different localities, by the variation in behavior of the plant under different conditions. There is perhaps no important honey plant which varies so much, in the quality of its nectar, as does cotton. The poor quality in some places can doubtless be explained by the fact that the flow is not abundant, and is mixed with other low-grade stores. However, honey dew is also sometimes reported from the plant itself.

“Sometimes, during a damp spell, the cotton gets covered with vast
numbers of aphis, and the upper side of the leaves will first get
gummy and then will even drip a kind of dirty-looking sweet fluid. If
there is anything else on hand the bees will not touch it.”--W. H.
Alder, Callahan County, Texas, page 334, American Bee Journal, 1899.

It is needless to say that this would make a poor product, and it is not improbable that honeydew is sometimes secured from cotton in localities where it seldom yields nectar. The secretion is apparently dependent far more upon soil than upon any other condition. Upon the black, wavy lands of Texas and upon other soils, it reaches its highest development. The boundary of the belt, where cotton yields freely and where it does not, is very marked in Texas. North of the escarpment which runs across Bexar County, Texas, near San Antonio, it is an important source. South of that line few beekeepers report it as dependable. North of this line the soil is black and heavy; south it is sandy. Wherever the writer has found beekeepers on sandy soil, they have reported the yield from cotton as uncertain; while on the heavy soils they report it as fairly constant, with suitable weather conditions. The map shown herewith, Fig. 46, roughly outlines the heavy section where honey from cotton is important in Texas. Cotton is grown east, south and, to some extent, west of that line. In east Texas cotton is reported as yielding well on river bottom lands and but little on the hills. In the southern sections, and also in other States, an occasional crop is reported where it does not yield regularly:

“We had a very dry, sultry spell here the latter part of last August,
and up to that time the bees were living from hand to mouth. All at
once they began storing from the cotton bloom, though it looked as
though cotton was going to die in the fields from drought and heat,
yet it yielded until the bees had stored from 30 to 60 pounds per
colony.”--J. J. Wilder, Cordele, Ga., American Bee Journal, page 141,
1906.

On suitable soils it is one of the most dependable sources of nectar:

“The apiarist who has his bees located within range of extensive
cotton areas can count on at least an average crop year after year,
with more certainty than many of the other numerous honey yielders
which we have.”--Louis Scholl, page 652, Gleanings, 1912.

“My main sources for surplus are mesquite trees, the cotton fields
being the second of importance in the central and northern parts of
the State, or throughout the black land region. On sandy or light
soil cotton yields very little honey. * * *

“The yield is good, averaging about 73 pounds of bulk comb honey per
year. One year it was over 100 pounds. Honey from cotton is very
light in color, the comb very white, and of excellent flavor when
well ripened. As soon as cool weather sets in this honey fairly draws
out in long strings, when handled with a spoon.”--Gleanings, page
1313, 1907.

From the above it will be seen that cotton honey is of good quality, at least in some localities Samples said to be from cotton from Georgia, are strong and of rather poor quality, while cotton honey received from Texas is light in color, of mild and rather pleasing flavor. The honey from Cotton granulates very quickly. That produced in the Southeastern States also has the effect of bursting the containers, possibly from the effects of fermentation. The humidity of the atmosphere evidently has a marked effect on the quality of the honey from this plant. The following reports indicate the quality:

“As to the quality of cotton honey, I can say from my own experience,
that it varies in color from light amber to almost water white. While
I do not consider it equal to white clover in flavor, it is superior
to basswood. * * * The flow increases toward the last of the season,
and if we can get two weeks of nice weather after frost it amounts
to a considerable increase in the crop.”--J. D. Yancey, Hunt County,
Texas. Gleanings, page 162, 1910.

“It did well on our rich bottom land and yielded a fair crop of the
finest honey it was ever my pleasure to see. It was so thick that it
was almost impossible to extract it, and entirely out of the question
to strain it through a single thickness of cheese-cloth. It was light
in color, mild in flavor, and very heavy, and in my opinion superior
to any honey ever shipped to this locality, not excepting huijilla.
The long drought and consequent absence of all other bloom, enabled
us to get a purer cotton honey than we had ever been able to get
before. Again, in the late fall, when the weather began to get cool,
our cotton took a second growth, soon blooming profusely, and by
accident we got also a fair fall crop.”--O. Saunders, Trenton, Texas.
Page 734, Gleanings, 1910.

One great advantage of the cotton flow is its long continuation. In Texas it begins to bloom in May or June, and the bees work it steadily until late fall, often November. Extra cultivation or fertilization of the soil increases the vigor of the plant and the nectar flow is increased accordingly:

“I can remember when the bees gathered only enough nectar from it
to stimulate brood rearing, and now we get from one to three supers
of surplus from this source alone. * * * On land where we used to
make a bale of cotton to 4 or 5 acres, now we make 1 to 2 bales per
acre, using high grades of commercial fertilizer and more prolific
varieties of the plant. It yields more where it grows best, and of a
much longer duration.”--J. J. Wilder, Cordele, Ga. Page 237, American
Bee Journal, 1911.

Bees get nectar not only from the cotton blossoms, but from extra floral nectaries as well. At times almost entirely, and to gather freely they seem to neglect the blossoms for the extra-floral nectaries. Some of these are located under the flower and begin to secrete nectar before the blossoms open. Others are located on the under sides of the leaves, and vary from one to three on each leaf. When atmospheric conditions are favorable, these glands secrete abundantly and the nectar gathers in drops. At times it is so abundant that the men cultivating get their clothes saturated with the nectar, from the brushing of the leaves against them. Later in the day the heat of the sun evaporates most of the moisture, leaving the clothing sticky. In hot and dry weather the flow is on in the morning and again in the evening, while in cloudy or damp weather it lasts all day.

When first gathered, the honey is said to be very thin and clear, with a strong and nauseating taste, resembling the taste of the plant itself. As the moisture is evaporated and the nectar ripens in the hive this disagreeable taste is lost to a large extent. During a heavy flow a strong odor is frequently present in the apiary, which can be noticed at some distance from the hives. Scholl compares this odor to that of crushed cotton leaves. He reports that at times it becomes so strong as to have a sickening effect on the apiarist, even interfering with his work, on calm days.

The heaviest flows come from rank-growing plants on rich soils, during warm and wet weather. At such times the honey is lighter in color and superior in quality, while the honey stored from plants growing on light soils during dry weather is darker and strong in taste.

Pollen from the cotton plant is white in color, and is produced in abundance from the large bell-shaped flowers. When the bloom first opens it is white, later turning pink.

COTTON-GUM, see Tupelo.

COTTONWOOD, see Aspen.

COW-ITCH (Cissus incisa).

The cow-itch is a climbing vine found from the coast of Florida to western Texas and north to southern Arkansas. In south Texas it is called “yerba del buey,” according to Coulter.

Scholl states that it “yields sufficiently to keep the bees out of mischief during a dearth, and giving surplus when abundant.” At Buffalo and Palestine, Texas, the author found reports to the effect that cow-itch was a heavy yielder of nectar, bees beginning on it as soon as the basswood bloom closed. It blooms from June till October, with fruit in all stages. The honey was reported to be light amber in color and of good flavor. R. A. Nestor reported that he had secured as high as 35 to 40 pounds of surplus per colony from this source mixed with partridge pea. It is also called corn-itch.

COWPEA (Vigna sinensis).

The cowpea is widely cultivated in the warmer regions of the old world and in our own Southern States. It is grown for forage and for green manure. The plant is more closely related to the beans than to the peas.

R. A. Nestor reports that it yields freely in east Texas, and where planted in sufficient acreage yields surplus. The honey is very dark in color, but of mild flavor, according to his report.

The nectar from cowpeas is secreted by extra floral nectaries and beekeepers are often mystified because the bees are working at the “joints” instead of on the flowers. Some report that bees gather nectar from the flowers, also.

The following reports indicate the value in different localities:

“There is no finer honey plant than the cowpea, while it lasts,
but it blooms only about a week. During this time, if the weather
is fair, the bees swarm over the fields from early morn till dewey
eve.”--J. D. Rowan, Tupelo, Miss. Gleanings, Sept. 15, 1909.

“The cowpea is one of our most abundant sources of honey for late
summer. The crop is planted here from May 1 to August 1, and
furnishes nectar through a considerable period of otherwise scarcity.
Unlike other plants, the stems, and not the blossoms, secrete the
nectar as the young pods are forming. These the bees work upon
excessively. The honey is of good body, thick, deep, approaching dark
yellow in color, and of strong taste like that of tulip-poplar, only
stronger, with a somewhat slight, wild-green-bean-like flavor.”--C.
C. Gettys, Hollis, N. C. Gleanings, Sept. 14, 1909.

“A small patch of peas was covered with bees from morning till night.
Nearly all of them were working on the stalks, as usual; but here
and there I saw a few Italians pushing their tongues down into the
blossoms. I have never noticed any pollen from the field peas.”--Mrs.
Ameda Ellis, Fremont, Mo. Gleanings, June 1, 1910.

“The peas bloom when there is a honey dearth and the bees gather
honey from them. However, I notice they do not work on them much if
there is a better honey plant blooming at the same time. My bees get
a good deal of nice honey from them.”--G. H. Latham, Jr., Rapidan,
Va. Gleanings, May 15, 1910.

COYOTE WEED, see Turkey Mullein.

CRAB APPLE (Malus).

There are several species of wild crab apples native to America. The fruit is small and sour and of little value. The blossoms are rose colored and very fragrant, making the tree worthy of cultivation as an ornamental. As a source of honey the wild crab apple ranks with the cultivated apple and other fruit trees. The blossoms appear from March to May and serve to stimulate spring brood rearing, though where abundant, strong colonies may gather some surplus.

The southern crab apple (=Malus angustifolia=) occurs in open woods from southern Pennsylvania south to Florida and west to Louisiana and Missouri.

The American crab apple (=Malus coronaria=) is common from eastern Canada to Michigan and south to Alabama and South Carolina. It is a small tree and often grows in dense thickets, where it furnishes ideal bee pasturage.

The Soulard crab apple (=Malus soulardi=) is much like the American crab apple in tree and flower, but has a larger fruit, which leads some authors to regard it as a hybrid between the cultivated apple and a native species. It is sometimes cultivated for its fruit, which is used as a substitute for quince. It occurs in the wild state from Minnesota to Texas, but not very common.

The Oregon crab apple (=Malus diversifolia=), is a native of the Pacific Coast from Alaska through Western Canada south to California. The fruit was formerly dried by the Indians for winter use.

All the wild crab apples are valuable sources of nectar, though the principal value is to stimulate early brood rearing.

CRIMSON CLOVER (Trifolium incarnatum).

Crimson clover is grown in the Southern States, but is not hardy in the North. It is an earlier bloomer than the other clovers. The blossoms are more showy than either alsike or red clover. The plant is an annual, and must be resown to perpetuate a field.

The honey yield is reported to be good and the quality similar to that of the other clovers. It is nowhere grown on the scale of the others, so is not so-well known as a source of honey.

Bonnier gives it third rank as a honey yielder, while the British Bee Journal states that it is about on a par with buckwheat, and that neither is satisfactory when honey of later yield is worked for.

Niswonger lists it as a very important plant in Kentucky, and states that the honey is of a very light yellow color of good quality.

CROCUS.

A group of early spring flowers native to the Mediterranean region of Europe, widely cultivated in gardens. Among the first flowers to bloom, they are very attractive to the bees, as shown in Fig. 47.

CROTON (Croton).

Scholl lists four species of croton as yielding pollen and nectar in Texas, though none of them are of much importance. Richter states that the bees visit the small blossoms of =Croton californicus= in large numbers. The author can find no records which indicate that the plants are of special value anywhere.

CROWNBEARD (Verbesina).

There are several species of this plant, some of which are very attractive to the bees. They may be found in the borders of open woodlands and partially shaded situations of the region east of the Missouri River. Where sufficiently abundant the crownbeard is the source of a considerable quantity of nectar. A coarse weed, growing four to eight feet tall, with winged stems and yellow, or sometimes white, blossoms.

CUCUMBER (Cucumis sativus).

The cucumber is dependent upon bees for pollination of the blossoms. The flowers are imperfect, the male organs being contained in one flower while the female organs are in another. For this reason it is necessary that insects carry the pollen from the staminate blossoms to the pistillate ones. Where pickles have been grown under glass, they have proved unfruitful until bees are given access to the bloom. Formerly the pickle growers fertilized the blossoms by hand to some extent. This was very laborious. According to B. N. Gates (In 3rd Report Iowa Bee Inspector), one grower has forty acres under glass in Massachusetts and the industry requires about three thousand colonies of bees annually to serve in the cucumber greenhouses.

In some sections, cucumbers are grown extensively for pickles. At Marengo, Ill., Doctor Miller reports that about 600 acres are planted to pickles. He reports that, whereas he formerly had no fall flow, his bees now gather some fall crop, part of it evidently from cucumbers. There are numerous localities where cucumbers are of some importance to the beekeeper. Lovell states that the honey is pale yellow or amber and has at first a rather strong flavor, which largely disappears in time.

CUP PLANT (Silphium perfoliatum).

Cup plant, also called rosin weed, is a common square-stemmed plant with leaves grown together at the base forming a cup. It grows from four to eight feet high and is abundant on rich lands, along streams and in woodside borders, in the Mississippi Valley. It produces numerous large yellow flowers and, where plentiful, furnishes considerable forage for the bees. It is probably seldom important as a source of surplus.

CULVER’S ROOT (Veronica virginica).

The Culver’s root is found from New England and Ontario to Manitoba and southward to Arkansas and Georgia. There are reports to the effect that the bees fairly swarm on this plant, but apparently it is not of much importance to the beekeeper.

CURRANT (Ribes).

There are several varieties of the cultivated garden currant and many species of the wild currants which are valuable sources of nectar. There are at least seven species of wild currant native to New Mexico. It is probable that some species of wild currants are to be found in every State where bees are kept. In the vicinity of large plantings of cultivated currants they are an important source of nectar, but generally speaking, they are a minor source and of chief value for pollen and for stimulating early brood rearing along with most other fruits.

CYNOGLOSSUM, see Hound’s Tongue.