Trees and Shrubs
| Plant type | Common name | Latin name | Begin Bloom Month | End Bloom Month | Monofloral honey | Availability | Source for honey bees / pounds of honey per acre |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T | Maple | Acer | 2 | 4 | no | feral | major but temperature usually too cold |
| T | Red Maple | Acer rubrum | 2 | 4 | no | feral | major but temperature usually too cold for bees to fly |
| T | Ohio Buckeye | Aesculus glabra | 4 | 5 | no | feral | minor |
| S | Shadbush | Amelanchier arborea | 4 | 5 | no | feral | minor |
| Devils-walkingstick | Aralia spinosa | 7 | 8 | no | feral | minor | |
| S | Red Chokeberry | Aronia arbutifolia, Photinia pyrifolia | 5 | 6 | no | feral | minor |
| S | Black Chokeberry | Aronia melanocarpa | 5 | 6 | no | feral | minor |
| T | Catalpa, Indian Bean | Catalpa speciosa | 6 | 7 | no | feral, ornamental | minor |
| S | Common Hackberry | Celtis occidentalis | 4 | 5 | no | feral | minor |
| S | Buttonbush | Cephalanthus occidentalis | 7 | 8 | Honey is light in color and mild in flavor. | feral | |
| S | Hawthorn | Crataegus | 4 | 5 | no | feral | minor - 50 - 100 pounds/acre |
| S | Honeysuckle | Diervilla lonicera | 6 | 8 | minor | ||
| T | Honey Locust | Gleditsia triancanthos | 5 | 6 | no | feral | minor |
| S | American Holly | Ilex opaca | 4 | 6 | no | feral | minor, important in southeastern US |
| T | Tulip-tree | Liriodendron tulipifera | 5 | 6 | yes, see Monofloral honey | feral | major in southern Appalachians and Piedmont |
| T | Apple | Malus domestica | 4 | 5 | No, the nectar is mostly used for spring brood raising and not stored for surplus. see Monofloral honey | cultivated | minor |
| T | Crab Apple | Malus sylvestris; Malus coronaria | 3 | 6 | no | ornamental | minor |
| T | Cherry | Prunus cerasus | 4 | 5 | no | feral, cultivated | minor |
| T | Pear | Pyrus communis | 4 | 5 | no | cultivated | minor |
| T | Black Cherry | Prunus serotina | 4 | 5 | no | feral, cultivated | minor |
| T | Plum | Prunus | 4 | 5 | no | feral, cultivated | minor |
| S | Common Buckthorn | Rhamnus cathartica | 5 | 6 | no | feral | minor |
| T | Sumac | Rhus glabra | 6 | 7 | mixed with other honeys | feral | major |
| T | Black Locust | Robinia pseudoacacia | 5 | 6 | yes, see Monofloral honey | feral | major - 800 - 1200 pounds/; short bloom period of about 10 days |
| S | Raspberry | Rubus | 5 | 6 | yes, see Monofloral honey | feral, cultivated | major in some areas |
| S | Blackberry | Rubus spp. | 5 | 6 | yes, see Monofloral honey | feral, cultivated | major in some areas |
| T | Willow | Salix | 2 | 4 | no | feral, ornamental | major but outside temperatures are usually too cold for bees to fly. 100 - 150 pounds honey per acre; 1,500 pounds pollen |
| T | Pussy Willow | Salix discolor | 3 | 4 | no | feral, ornamental | major but temperature usually too cold for bees to fly |
| T | Bee bee tree | Tetradium | 7 | 9 | ornamental | major | |
| T | Basswood | Tilia americana, Tilia cordata | 6 | 7 | yes, short flow up to 14 days; Honey white; aromatic see Monofloral honey | feral, ornamental Produces a high volume of honey on a cycle of every five to eight years, with lower volume of nectar other years. | major 800 - 1,100 pounds honey |
| T | American Elm | Ulmus americana | 2 | 4 | no | feral | minor |
| S | Blueberry | Vaccinium corymbosum, Vaccinium angustifolium, Vaccinium pennsylvanicum | 5 | 6 | no. Honey amber and of good flavor. | cultivated | minor in most areas. Strong colonies may store 50-90 pounds of surplus from it. |
| S | Black haw | Viburnum prunifolium | 5 | 6 |
Read more about this topic: Northern American Nectar Sources For Honey Bees
Famous quotes containing the words trees and, trees and/or shrubs:
“It was a tangled and perplexing thicket, through which we stumbled and threaded our way, and when we had finished a mile of it, our starting-point seemed far away. We were glad that we had not got to walk to Bangor along the banks of this river, which would be a journey of more than a hundred miles. Think of the denseness of the forest, the fallen trees and rocks, the windings of the river, the streams emptying in, and the frequent swamps to be crossed. It made you shudder.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The very dew seemed to hang upon the trees later into the day than usual, as on the sides of mountains.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Half-opening her lips to the frost’s morning sigh, how strangely the rose has smiled on a swift-fleeting day of September!
How audacious it is to advance in stately manner before the blue-tit fluttering in the shrubs that have long lost their leaves, like a queen with the spring’s greeting on her lips;
to bloom with steadfast hope that, parted from the cold flower-bed, she may be the last to cling, intoxicated, to a young hostess’s breast.”
—Afanasi Fet (1820–1892)