Jepson lists 18 species of gilia as common to California. The late
Prof. A. J. Cook, writing of gilia in the American Bee Journal stated
that all the gilias are good honey plants. He mentioned =Gilia
capitata= as the source of quantities of sky-blue pollen. He mentions
the fact that several species yield pollen of a blue color. It is
probably a source of minor importance, since it is seldom mentioned
except incidentally in the literature.
GOLDEN GLOW, see Coneflower.
GOLDEN HONEY PLANT (Actinomeris squarrosa).
The golden honey plant is common from New York to Michigan and
Nebraska, and southward to the Gulf States. This plant is closely
related to the crownbeard and is sometimes classified as a verbesina.
It grows in rich bottom lands and in the borders of woods and fields,
reaching a height of 4 to 8 feet. The yellow flowers are very
attractive to the bees and, where sufficiently common, are a valuable
source of nectar.
[Illustration: Fig. 60. _Solidago puberula._]
GOLDENROD (Solidago).
Of the eighty species of goldenrod all but three or four belong to
North America. It is one of our most widely distributed native plants.
Some species seem adapted to nearly every condition from Canada to
Mexico and from the Atlantic Coast to California. There is a wide
difference, however, in the value of the different species to the
beekeeper, and it is no easy task to get reliable information regarding
the range of conditions under which it secretes nectar abundantly, nor
is there much recorded information concerning the particular species
which are most valuable for this purpose. It is a well-known fact that
the secretion of nectar with any plant is greatly influenced by soil
and climatic conditions. Some of our most valuable honey plants have
been reported as producing no nectar when introduced into Australia.
It is very probable that when we have studied the matter carefully we
will find that the same species of goldenrod varies as much in its
nectar secretion under different conditions as we know to be the case
with alfalfa.
[Illustration: Fig. 61. _Solidago hispida._]
Lovell is of the opinion that all species of goldenrods secrete nectar
in some localities. This is quite probable, although there is very
little honey from goldenrod in Iowa from any species. Along the upper
Mississippi, in the northeastern counties, a few beekeepers report
honey from goldenrod. In other sections of Iowa beekeepers report that
they have never seen a bee on the plant. Dr. L. H. Pammel, botanist
at the State Experiment Station, reports nine species of goldenrods
common to that State. He lists =S. serotina=, =S. canadensis= and =S.
graminifolia= as furnishing some honey here. If Lovell is right about
all yielding nectar under some conditions, then all are of interest to
the beekeeper, and it remains a question of learning the conditions
under which each species develops most favorably. If all do not yield
nectar, it is important that we learn to distinguish between the
species which are valuable honey plants and those which are troublesome
weeds.
[Illustration: Fig. 62. Bushy goldenrod (_Solidago graminifolia_), a
fine honey plant in New England.]
Richter lists only two species of this plant as important in
California. The western goldenrod (=S. occidentalis=), he mentions
as common in wet places such as marshes and river banks, from August
to October, yielding an amber honey. =S. californica=, the common
goldenrod of the coast, he describes as common on dry plains and
hillsides or mountains throughout the State, from August to December.
He lists it as a fair honey plant.
Scholl reports goldenrods as common to all parts of Texas, and states
that the honey yield is good in favorable seasons when it is not too
dry. He reports a long season, from April to November, but gives no
list of the species furnishing nectar in that region.
Sladen reports finding eleven species of goldenrods about Ottawa.
He finds that individually the =canadensis= group (Fig. 64) produce
comparatively little nectar, but their great abundance makes them
important collectively.
[Illustration: Fig. 63. Tall, hairy goldenrod (_Solidago rugosa_), one
of the best for honey.]
Sladen also notes the variation of the plant under different conditions
and says that the nature of the land determines the presence and
abundance of the best species. He reports that in the wet lands of
Charlotte County, N. B., especially in the Honeydale district, they,
together with asters, furnish the principal source of nectar, and that
they are valuable generally as a source of surplus in coastal districts
of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The same is said of eastern Manitoba.
He places the yield at from 50 to 80 pounds per colony in localities
where the best species of goldenrod and asters abound. The honey is
usually of good quality, ranging in color in the different districts
from white to dark amber. That gathered in swampy districts is usually
bright golden. Evidently goldenrod honey is seldom stored separate from
aster in localities from which these reports are made.
[Illustration: Fig. 64. Common or Canada goldenrod (_Solidago
canadensis_).]
Mr. Sladen describes three types of locations in which the plants may
be found in Canada:
1. Open swamp or bog, where =S. uglinosa= and =S. rugosa= are found.
The former begins blooming in August, while the latter blooms until
mid-September, so that there is more than a month of flow from these
plants. Although the bogs are independent of rain during the honey
flow, fine weather and moderate warmth are necessary to a crop.
2. Sandy or gravelly barrens or plains. On the coast, as well as
inland, on such lands are found =S. puberula= (Fig. 60), while inland
are to be found in addition, =S. squarrosa= (Fig. 59) and the less
important =S. hispida= (Fig. 61). Good rains in early August, followed
by fine and warm weather, bring best results.
3. A restricted area centering in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, in
which =S. Graminifolia= is a troublesome weed (Fig. 62.)
He further reports that the roadside goldenrods of old Ontario are not
heavy producers of honey under ordinary conditions.
[Illustration: Fig. 65. Early goldenrod (_Solidago juncea_).]
In an article on the Honey Flora of New England, which appeared in the
April, 1916, American Bee Journal, Lovell states as follows:
“If I were compelled to stake the existence of bee culture in New
England on a single genus of plants I should select the goldenrods.
There are many species, and they all yield nectar and pollen. They
begin to bloom in midsummer and continue to bloom in October. They
are very common and there are species adapted to the seashore, the
fields, the rocks and the woods. I have never known the flow of
nectar to fail, and a great quantity of heavy, yellow honey is stored
annually.”
Mr. Lovell has kindly sent me his field notes on these plants. There
is a large amount of interesting information which space will not
permit inserting here. The notes include the study of six species, all
of which produce some nectar in Maine. He describes the tall, hairy
goldenrod =S. rugosa= (Fig. 63) as the latest to blossom and the most
valuable as a honey plant. It is found in damp thickets and on moist
land. While in bloom the bees work it very diligently and the honey is
stored rapidly. The apiary is filled with a sour odor, which, in the
evening, is noticeable at a distance.
Goldenrod honey, according to him, is deep golden yellow in color,
thick and heavy, with a more decided flavor than white clover honey.
When extracted it granulates in a month or two, but the bees winter on
it perfectly.
Next in importance he places the bushy goldenrod (=S. graminifolia=)
(Fig. 62). This is common in fields, open woodlands and hedgerows. The
odor is faint, but the nectar is clearly visible in the flowers. He
reports as many as six honeybees at work at one time on a single flower
cluster. It will be noted that this is one of the species which Doctor
Pammel mentions as yielding nectar in Iowa. Sladen also cites it as
important in Canada.
Graenicher collected 135 different species of insects on this species
in Wisconsin.
The cream-colored goldenrod, sometimes called white goldenrod (=S.
bicolor=), is of special interest because of the fact that it is
the only one of the group which is not yellow in color. Although it
produces nectar, I can find no record which indicates that it is of
much importance as a honey plant anywhere. Lovell says that it is of
little value in Maine.
The early goldenrod (=S. juncea=) (Fig. 65), is the first to bloom in
Maine and is very abundant in old fields. The bees visit it freely, but
apparently do not get much honey from it.
Graenicher states that he has collected 182 different species of
insects on this plant, in Wisconsin, which indicates the presence of
considerable nectar in that locality.