The garden asparagus is an introduced plant widely cultivated. It is
very attractive to the bees and yields pollen plentifully. As a source
of nectar it is unimportant.
ASH (Fraxinus).
There are more than twenty species of ash trees common to various
sections of America. Some are well known timber trees, furnishing
lumber for furniture and for interior finishing. The flowers are small,
inconspicuous and of a greenish color. Their principal value to the
beekeeper is as a source of pollen, although Richter lists the Oregon
ash (=Fraxinus oregona=) as a source of honey also.
ASH LEAVED MAPLE, see Box Elder.
=ASPEN (Populus).= Poplar or Cottonwood.
There are several species of poplars. It is a widely distributed group,
some species being found in most all sections of the country. They
are important for pollen, though some honeydew is reported from them
also. They thrive especially well on the low lands along streams and
are the most common trees of the plains region from Dakota south to
Oklahoma and western Texas. This group should not be confused with the
tulip-poplar, which see.
[Illustration: Fig. 10. White field aster (_Aster vimineus_).]