The cultivated peonies are introduced from Asia and are commonly grown
for ornament. Most varieties are double and produce no pollen. The
single varieties, however, produce pollen in abundance, and at times
the bees seek them eagerly. The writer has seen as many as six to eight
bees gathering pollen on a single blossom. The opening buds also seem
to exude a nectar-like substance sought by ants and bees.
[Illustration: Fig. 107. Blossoms of Clethra, or sweet pepper bush.]
PEPPERBUSH or WHITE ALDER (Clethra alnifolia).
The sweet pepperbush occurs from Maine along the coast to Florida and
west to Louisiana. It is a small shrub with white flowers, as shown in
Figure 107, which appear in midsummer. In Alabama, Georgia and north
Florida, it is common in the coast plain, on swampy banks of streams
and in low, wet thickets. It is very fragrant when in bloom and is
often used for ornamental planting on lawns and in parks. The honey is
thick, white and of fine flavor. In localities where the plant occurs
abundantly, in the wild state, it seldom fails to bloom, since it grows
in wet places and is unaffected by drought.
PEPPERIDGE, see Tupelo.
[Illustration: Fig. 108. Blossoms and fruits of pepper tree.]
PEPPER-TREE (Schinus molle).
The pepper-tree, a native of western South America, has been widely
planted in California for ornament and shade. Its bright red berries
are a substitute for pepper, hence the name. It is a well-known tree on
the Pacific coast, as far north as Martinez, on the Suisun Bay. It is
grown in parks, on lawns and along the streets of nearly every Southern
California city.
While a small amount of bloom may be seen at almost any time of the
year, its principal period is in late summer when there is a scarcity
of nectar-secreting blossoms (Fig. 108). The blossoms are rich in
nectar and the bees gather some surplus from this source. The honey is
amber in color, strong and rather peppery in flavor.
The flowers are small and of a greenish or yellowish color, in large
sprays. The berries ripen in November and December.
PEPPER-VINE, see Snowvine.
PERSICARIA, see Heartsease.
PERSIMMON (Diospyros).
The persimmon, or possom-wood (=Diospyros virginiana=), grows from
southern New England south and west to Missouri, Arkansas, Florida and
along the gulf to Texas. It is a tree of medium size, reaching a height
of 50 feet and rarely exceeding 12 inches in diameter. (Fig. 109). The
fruit is composed of a rich and palatable pulp and a few large seeds.
When green it is very astringent and very disagreeable. The flowers
appear in May in the southern part of its range, and later northward.
Where abundant, persimmon is a valuable source of nectar. The Mexican
persimmon (=Diospyros Texana=), called also date plum, is a shrub or
tree 10 to 30 feet in height. It thrives best in canyons and ravines,
and is common over much of south Texas. It is frequently reported as an
important source of early nectar in many parts of Texas.
Franklin Sherman, Jr., lists the persimmon as sixth in importance of
the honey sources of North Carolina. He states that it is irregular in
yield and lasts but a short time, but does well while it lasts.
[Illustration: Fig. 109. Swarm of bees building comb in a persimmon
tree.]
PHACELIA (Phacelia).
Jepson described thirteen species of phacelia as native to California.
Of these Richter lists four as of value to the beekeeper. Hill vervenia
(=Phacelia distans=) he lists as common in the plains and foothills,
yielding both nectar and pollen. The caterpillar phacelia (=Phacelia
hispida=) is listed as common in the chaparral belt, yielding a
water-white honey of fine flavor that candies soon after extracting.
This is common in Ventura County, and M. H. Mendleson reports that he
extracted a carload of honey from this source before the blooming of
the sages. =Phacelia ramosissima= is reported as a fair honey plant,
but not equal to the others. The valley vervenia, or fiddle neck
(=Phacelia tanacetifolia=) is listed by Jepson (“Flora of Western
Middle California”) as found in the Sacramento Valley and southward to
southern California. It blooms in April and furnishes bee pasture in
about six weeks from seed, and the bloom lasts about six weeks.
“The nectar flows all day. The honey is amber in color, sometimes
light green and of a mild aromatic flavor. Cows fed on it show
a marked increase in flow of milk, but will not eat it alone at
first.”--Harry E. Horne, page 342 of above book.
This species was introduced into Germany and had quite a boom there
in the early nineties. Much attention was given it in the German bee
magazines and it was endorsed as valuable both for forage and for bee
pasturage.
Scholl lists =Phacelia congesta= and =Phacelia glabra= as yielding
sparingly in Texas. Thos. Wm. Cowan writes as follows, in American Bee
Journal, in regard to the growing of phacelia in Europe:
“The one grown in Europe, =Phacelia tanacetifolia=, is literally
covered with bees from morning till night. The species was introduced
into Europe from California in 1832, and is called tanacetifolia
(tansy-leaved) from the resemblance of its leaves to those of tansy.
It is an annual with bluish pink flowers, racemes spike-formed,
elongated, corymbose; height of plant two feet. It is grown in Europe
as a bee plant for its nectar, and is the only one which produces an
appreciable quantity of it.”--November 20, 1902, page 751.
A beekeeper from Indiana reports that =Phacelia purshii= grows freely
in the wheat fields in his locality and that the bees work freely on
the blue flowers. He states that in places it grows so abundantly that
the wheat takes second place to the phacelia. On the 27th of May, 1919,
strong colonies already had full depth extracting supers almost filled.
The honey from this source is of good quality.