There are several species of gaura of wide distribution. Although
frequently mentioned as honey plants, they are seldom of sufficient
abundance to be important.
Scholl reports that =Gaura filiformis= occasionally yields surplus in
Texas, when conditions are favorable. The red gaura is reported as of
value in Colorado. (See Red Gaura.)
GELSEMIUM, see Yellow Jasmine.
GEORGIA--Honey flora of.
The earliest blooming of our spring forage plants is the alder
(=alnus=), which commences about the middle of January and lasts, some
seasons, till the middle of February. It yields little or no honey, but
during its time of bloom, its pollen-laden catkins are covered with
bees. The amount of pollen that this plant affords is immense; and it
comes in a time when breeding should be most encouraged.
In some sections of the South, particularly on light, sandy soils,
there may be found some yellow jasmine (=Gelsemium sempervirens=). As
its flowers possess very decided toxical properties, it is not a very
desirable plant to have within range of one’s bees. It blooms after the
alder. While our native black bees are very seldom seen working upon
it, the Italians, in some seasons, will work upon it quite briskly. I
am inclined to think, from close observation, that it is mostly pollen
they gather from it, though in some seasons it does yield some honey.
The wild plum (in some sections known as the hog plum) usually
commences to bloom the last of February and lasts for two or three
weeks. This is peculiarly a southern tree, and grows to great
perfection nearly everywhere. Whole acres are often covered with it,
forming a dense thicket, thus affording the bees rich pasture.
In March we have the peach, the apple (which continues into April), the
mock orange, or evergreen wild cherry (=Cerasus carolinaensis=), the
huckleberry, strawberry, and a few other plants of minor consideration.
Further south they have the titi, the saw palmetto and the orange, all
good forage plants.
The willow, wild cherry, hawthorn, blackberries, raspberries, locust,
holly and tulip tree (=Liriodendron tulipifera=) bloom in April. The
two latter are most valuable for honey. The holly blooms for about two
weeks--the height of its flowering is about the first week in May. The
tulip tree blooms for three weeks. This is the poplar tree of the south.
In May we have the black gum (=Nyssa multiflora=) and the persimmon,
both excellent for forage. The blooms of these trees are dioecious,
that is, the male flower is found on one plant and the female flower
on another. Bees are very seldom seen working on the female tree, while
on the male bloom they work in a continuous swarm.
In May, also blooms the bay (=Magnolia glauca=). This tree flowers for
at least one month, and extends into June. It affords some of our best
and most abundant forage. The =Magnolia grandiflora=, linden and China
berry (=Melia azedarach=) bloom also in May. The magnolia blooms for
six weeks, the linden from six to ten days, and the China tree for two
weeks.
Sourwood, the varnish tree (=Sterculia platanifolia=), Japan privet
(=Ligustrum=) and a few other plants of less note embrace the principal
forage in June.
I have now enumerated the chief honey-producing plants that go to
make up our spring honey harvest. Take one season with another, our
bees commence to lay up surplus about the last of April and continue
until the first or middle of June. After this date but little honey
is gathered from the holly, persimmon, black gum, bay and sourwood.
Of course, some seasons there is considerable honey gathered from
other sources. The color of the honey is usually a little dark, but of
excellent flavor.
There is comparatively little forage during the summer months of July
and August. The button bust (=Cephalanthus occidentalis=), sumach,
=Asclepias tuberosa= (known as pleurisy root and butterfly weed),
and =Yucca alnifolia= (Spanish bayonet), are the most important. The
cotton plant, which generally commences to bloom about the first of
July, yields largely of pollen, but very little honey. Sumach is a
rich mellifluous plant, but the warm, dry atmosphere evaporates the
secretion very rapidly, so that the bees can only work on it very early
in the morning, while the dew is on. The Spanish bayonet plant no doubt
furnishes some nectar. It generally swarms with flies, various sorts of
wild bees, and now and then a few honeybees will visit it.
Bees are generally able to gather sufficient stores during July and
August to keep up brood rearing and the strength of the colony until
the blooming of the autumn forage.
The first to bloom of the fall pasturage is the =Chrysopsis
graminifolia= of Nuttall, a perennial, composite. This plant is often
taken for a species of dog fennel, but it is altogether distinct. It is
indigenous to the south from Florida to North Carolina, which seems to
be its northern limit. It is a yellow flowering weed that commences to
bloom in August and keeps on till frost.
The goldenrod and the asters bloom till killed by frost. I esteem both
these plants very highly for their honey-producing qualities. In some
seasons I have hives filled with aster honey alone.--Dr. J. H. P.
Brown, Augusta, Ga. American Bee Journal, Page 500, 1880.
[Illustration: Fig. 58. Germander, or wood sage.]
GERMANDER or WOOD SAGE (Teucrium canadense).
The germander, also known as wood sage, is found in open woodlands
and thickets from Nova Scotia to Nebraska, and south to Florida and
Texas. It is common in the Central States, and is much sought by the
bees. The blooming period is long. In 1915 the bees were working on
this plant in the writer’s garden for nearly two months. Apparently
this plant does not secrete nectar very freely, yet it is an excellent
plant to keep the bees at work when they might otherwise be robbing.
The writer does not recall ever having seen a locality where it was
sufficiently abundant to amount to very much by itself, though it is a
valuable addition to the other honey-producing flora. Fig. 58 shows the
blossoms and leaves, which bear some resemblance to catnip.
[Illustration: Fig. 59. _Solidago squarrosa._]
GIANT HYSSOP (Agastache nepetoides).
Giant hyssop is a tall perennial herb with flowers crowded on a
terminal spike, flowering in summer. It is common in woodland borders
from New England to Minnesota and south to North Carolina and Texas.
Lovell lists it as blooming about six weeks and much visited by
honeybees. Probably nowhere important.