Royal palms (=Roystonea regia=) are very abundant in Cuba and Porto
Rico and are probably the most characteristic trees of those islands.
They are also to be found to some extent in the southern portions of
the United States. As sources of honey these trees are important in the
West Indies, where they yield nectar abundantly.
The date palm (=Phoenix dactylifera=) has been planted to a limited
extent in the desert regions of the Southwestern United States. This
species is reputed to be a splendid source of nectar.
The cocoanut palm (=Cocos nucifera=) is the most important of all the
palm trees, since the nuts furnish large quantities of food, much used
in tropical countries. This species is common in the West Indies and
in southern Florida. Although the source of considerable honey it is
not equal to the foregoing species as a source of nectar. (See also
Palmetto).
PALMETTO (Sabal).
The palmettos are the most conspicuous feature of the flora of the
south half of Florida. (Fig. 104.) The cabbage palmetto is a tree,
while the saw or scrub palmetto grows more like the underbrush in
northern forests. To the man accustomed to dense forests, the open,
park-like growth of the palmettos hardly seems like woodland. The
illustration gives a good idea of the typical Florida landscape.
This group of plants is not important in America, outside of the State
of Florida. A small area in lower Texas, about the mouth of the Rio
Grande River, is covered by a species of palmetto closely resembling
the cabbage palmetto, but it is thought to be a different species.
An occasional tree is also found along the seacoast as far north as
Charleston, S. C. They are to be found also as street trees in various
southern cities along the Gulf Coast and in south Texas. The small saw
palmetto (=Serenoa serrulata=) also extends its range into Georgia and
the Carolinas, in open pine woodlands.
In Florida both forms are sufficiently abundant to furnish nectar in
quantity worthy the attention of the commercial beekeeper. However,
in too many localities there is little else available, so that the
season between flows is too long to make beekeeping worth while. To
take advantage of the palmetto flows and at the same time get good
crops through the rest of the year, the late O. O. Poppleton practiced
migratory beekeeping. His apiaries were moved several times during the
year, so as to be near different sources in the period of bloom. The
great drawback to beekeeping in Florida is the lack of a sufficient
variety of honey plants in one location to support the bees profitably
throughout the year. There are a few localities, of course, where this
does not apply.
[Illustration: Fig. 102. Cabbage palmetto in bloom.]
The cabbage palmetto (=Sabal palmetto=) (Fig. 102) gets its name from
the cabbage-like formation in the bud at the top of the growing trunk.
The tree grows 25 to 35 feet in height and has large fan-shaped leaves
several feet long. It grows along the Atlantic Coast to the north line
of Florida, but in the interior is not found in abundance more than
about two-thirds of the way.
[Illustration: Fig. 103. The saw palmetto in bloom.]
The tree blooms during July and August, the latter date applying to
northern parts of the State. The blossoms are very delicate and have
been likened by Professor Baldwin to a giant ostrich plume. (Fig.
105). According to his statement, the flowerlets are sensitive to
weather conditions. Too much moisture blights them, while the opposite
extreme blasts the delicate bloom. As a consequence, it does not yield
abundantly more than about one year in three, although at times it
yields very profusely.
“On the St. Lucie River, Mr. Hill extracted, barreled and shipped
3,500 pounds of palmetto honey from 55 colonies in two weeks.”--Page
489, American Bee Journal, 1899.
While palmetto honey is regarded as of very high quality, the honey
from the cabbage tree is rather thin and requires some care in getting
it properly ripened, as the following quotations will show:
“Cabbage palmetto honey, sealed or unsealed, will foam as though
fermentation was in progress; that taken from the combs unsealed
will ferment enough to deprive it of all the honey flavor, but the
sealed only foams. Thin and acid and amber in color, it will flow
bubbling from the cells behind the knife, and it is not a rare thing
to see gas bubbles under the cappings of the sealed cells. Whether
the colonies are strong or weak, it is always the same, when the bees
work on the cabbage trees, as the common palm tree of Florida is
called. The name comes from the fact that the bud in the head at the
top is eaten in lieu of cabbage.
“The saw palmetto is decidedly different in the nectar it yields. Saw
palmetto honey, even unsealed, may be called a good honey, and it is,
too. When ripened it is a honey that makes a name for itself when
enough care is taken by the producer to have it unmixed with other
nectars.
“I write from personal experience on the east coast of Florida.”--L.
K. Smith, Gleanings, page 39, 1909.
[Illustration: Fig. 104. The palmettos are a conspicuous feature of the
Florida landscape.]
The saw palmetto (=Serenoa serrulata=), often called scrub palmetto
(Fig. 103), is a low growing little palm, found on dry soils in the
Gulf Coast region. In the southern portion of its range, in peninsular
Florida, it attains the proportions of a small tree. There it sometimes
reaches a height of 20 feet, with erect or inclined trunk. Further
north the stem is almost invariably underground. Large areas of pine
lands are covered with it.
The blooming time is April and May. O. O. Poppleton wrote concerning
his calendar of the year:
“April--Saw palmetto flow commences early in the month and continues
until last of May. Our apiary work these two months is extracting,
building up all colonies and replacing poor queens.”--Beekeepers’
Review, page 11, 1893.
[Illustration: Fig. 105. Bloom of the cabbage palmetto.]
Concerning the honey flow from saw palmetto we quote E. G. Baldwin as
follows:
“The honey from saw palmetto is lemon-yellow in color, thick and
waxy and of pronounced but delicious flavor. It is not quite so
transparent as pure orange honey, but seldom candies, and makes a
choice table article. Mr. O. O. Poppleton pronounces it the best
honey in Florida, with the possible exception of tupelo. It is liked
by almost everyone at first taste; is a trifle milder, even, than
orange.”--Gleanings, page 177, 1911.
Forest fires frequently destroy many square miles of the saw palmetto,
thus removing this source of nectar for one year. However, according to
Baldwin, the burned-over portions usually produce the most honey the
following year.
Concerning the flow from palmetto, E. B. Rood, of Bradentown, writes as
follows:
“We have been having the heaviest honey flow from palmetto for ten
years. One colony on scales brought in 50 pounds in four days,
and 80 pounds in ten days. I expect 20,000 to 30,000 pounds. I
have extracted 13,000 pounds now and am just starting on another
round.”--Gleanings, page 703, 1908.
PARADISE FLOWER, see Acacia.
PARSNIP (Pastinaca sativa).
The cultivated parsnip is a valuable honey plant. In the seed belt of
California, where it is grown largely for seed, it is important as a
source of surplus. Writing in Gleanings (November, 1919) E. R. Root
mentions having seen hives five and six stories high, jammed full of
honey from parsnip and celery. He states that the honey is not of the
best, and that honey from parsnip is inferior to that gathered from
celery.
[Illustration: Fig. 106. Partridge pea.]
PARTRIDGE PEA (Cassia Chamaechrista).
Partridge pea, known also as sensitive pea, is an important source of
honey in Georgia and Florida. The flowers, of an attractive yellow
color, are about the size shown in Figure 106, which displays blossom,
seedpod and leaf. This plant is common along sandy roadsides in the
Middle West, and may at times be found for miles at a stretch. It is
seldom reported as an important source of surplus honey, except in the
Southeastern States. While the bees visit it freely while in bloom
in the Northern States, the honey stored from this source is seldom
noticeable.
The plant is peculiar in that in addition to the flowers, nectar is
secreted by extra floral nectaries at the base of the leaf stalk or
petiole. The bloom lasts for several weeks in midsummer. As the bloom
comes for the most part after the close of the clover harvest, its
chief value in the North is to keep the bees occupied till the later
flowers furnish a fall flow. The quality stored from this source is
reported as poor in the North.
In contrast, the following report indicates that it is valuable in
Georgia and Florida:
“Bees store from one to three supers, during its flow, of light
honey. The flow begins in June and lasts until October.”--Wilder in
American Bee Journal, page 369, 1912.
PEACH (Prunus persica).
The cultivated peach is an important source of nectar over a wide scope
of country. In localities where large peach orchards are found, it is
important for building up colonies in spring. Like most of the tree
fruits, the blooming period comes early, before the bees are strong
enough to profit to the fullest extent from the abundance of nectar.
PEAR (Pyrus).
The cultivated pear is old-world origin, but now widely distributed in
America. Where grown commercially, it is the source of abundant nectar
and pollen in early spring. Most varieties of the pear bloom ahead of
the apple. Nearly all the tree fruits furnish nectar in abundance and
all are valued highly by the beekeeper.
The pear is subject to blight, which destroys thousands of trees every
year. For a time the honeybee was accused of spreading the blight by
her visits from tree to tree. There is now serious doubt whether it is
possible for the bee to spread this disease. Experiments by Dr. J. H.
Merrill, at Kansas Agricultural College, indicate that the aphids are
the carriers of the infection.
PENNSYLVANIA--Honey sources of.
Pennsylvania is in what is generally known as the white clover region.
White and alsike clover are of first importance. Buckwheat, in some
sections, is also a main source of surplus. In spring, the willows and
maples, followed by dandelion and fruit bloom, furnish both nectar and
pollen for early brood rearing. In the mountains, azalea and laurel
furnish some honey. Black locust, tulip-poplar and sumac are valuable
in certain localities. Basswood, goldenrod and asters should also be
included as of local importance.
PENNYROYAL, see Wild Pennyroyal.