BEE-spoke-data/bees-v0 huggingface dataset:
The button-bush, also called button willow, is a bushy shrub growing in marshy places, stagnant shallow water, and along streams, from New England to Texas and west to California. This shrub, or in places a small tree, has a very wide range and is found in most of the States where honey production is important. Bulletin No, 102 of the Texas Agricultural College, reports it as common throughout Texas, and the bulletin relating to honey plants of California (217 Experiment Station), records it as a good honey plant in California. It is listed in the catalog of plants of nearly every State and of Canada, which the author has consulted. It is also said to occur in Asia, and possibly Africa.
Our readers who live in the vicinity of wet lands are likely to find specimens near at hand. In a few sections it is sufficiently abundant to be an important addition to the midsummer flora. It is reported as more particularly valuable in the overflowed lands along the Mississippi River. The bees seek it eagerly when in bloom, and in places where it is plentiful it is regarded as of considerable value as a honey plant.
The honey is light in color and mild in flavor, according to published reports. Fig. 33 shows a near view of the flowers, which are crowded together in dense heads, giving them the appearance of cotton balls.
The shrub is very bushy, with an abundant foliage. It is reported as reaching a height of 0 feet in California. In Alabama it is recorded as a shrub of from 0 to 15 feet in height, which is more like its appearance in Iowa, according to the author's observation. Here it is rather a small bush, not much higher than a man's head, and as far across, with many branches from the ground.
The blooming period is July and August, according to locality, a season when additions to the honey-producing flora are most welcome.
### 4.3 BUTTER-WEED (Diodia teres).
The button-weed occurs on sandy lands from New England to Florida and west to Kansas and Texas. Scholl lists it as yielding honey well during drought in Texas, but not as a source of surplus.
CABBAGE (Brassica olercea).Cabbage belongs to a group of valuable honey plants, including mustard, turnip, etc. In the seed belt of California, where grown for seed on a large scale, cabbage is valuable. The late J. S. Harbison said of it:
"Cabbage blossoms afford a considerable amount of honey of a fine quality and flavor."--Beekeeper's Directory.
**CACTUS, see Pickly Pear, CALICO BUSH, see Laurel, CALIFORNIA HOLLY, see Christmas Berry. --**
**CALIFORNIA--Honey Sources of.**
Honey plants yielding a surplus during an average season:
Yueca (Hesperoyucca whipplei).
Willow (Salis ap.)
Wild buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum).
**Berberis pinnata.**
Black mustard (Brassica nigra).
English mustard (Brassica sp.)
Rocky Mountain honey plant (Cleome interifolia).
Jackass clover (Wislizenia refracta).
Christmas berry (Heteromeles arbutifolia).
Pear (Pyrus communis).
Apple (Pyrus malus).
Wild alfalfa (Lotus glaber),
Bur clover (Medicago denticulata).
Alfalfa (Medicago sativa).
White sweet clover (Melitotus alba).
Yellow sweet clover (Melitotus officinalis).
Lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus).
Alfilerilla (Erodium cicaturium).
White stem flarec (Erodium moschatum).
Orange (Cirrus aurantium).
Tree of heaven (Ailanthus glandulosa).
Poison oak (Rhus diversiloba).
(Laurel) Sumac (Rhus laurina).
Pepper tree (Schinus molle).
California buckeye (Aesculus californica).
Coffce berry (Rhamnus californica).
Cascara sagrada (Rhamnus purshiana).
Wild hollyhock (Sidaleea malvaeflora).
Prickly pear (Opuntia lindheimeri occidentalia).
Lemon scented gum (Eucalyptus citriodora).
White stringy-bark (Eucalyptus eugenioides).
Blue Gun (Eucalyptus globulus).
Red gum (**Eucalyptusrostrata**).
Manna gum (**Eucalyptusvtiminalis**),
Blue thistle (**Cryngium articulatum**).
Manzanita (**Arteostaphylos**),
Yerba sania (**Eriodictyon trichocalix**),
Caterpillar phacelia (**Phacelia hispida**).
Valley vervenia (**Phacelia tenacetifolia**).
Carpct grass (**Lippia nodiflora**).
Horehound (**Marrubium vulgare**).
Peppermit (**Mentha spicata**).
While sage (**Salvia apiana**),
Thistle sage (**Salvia carduacea**).
Annual sage (**Salvia columbariae**).
Purple sage (**Salvia leucophylla**).
Black sage (**Salvia mellifera**).
Creeping sage (**Salvia sonomensis**).
Blue curls (**Trichostema lanceolatum**).
Button willow (**Cephalanthus occidentalis**).
Napa thistle (**Centaurea melitensis**).
Spike weed (**Centromadia pungens**).
Bull thistle (**Crisium lanceolatum**).
Common sunflower (**Helianthus annuus**).
Coast tarweed (**Hemizonia corymbosa**).
Tarweed (**Hemizonia fasciculata**).
Yellow tarweed (**Hemizonia virgata**).
"Yellow Tops" (**Hemizonia**),
Goldenrol (**Solidago occidentalis**).
Kalbit brush (white) (**Chrysothamnu snaiveoaus hypolluca**).
Cultivated plants that would rank with the above had they a wider distribution:
Common century plant (**Agave americana**).
White clover (**Trifolium repens**).
American linden (**Tilia americana**).
Tamarisk (**Tamaris**, **Eucalyptus calophylla**).
Yate tree (**Eucalyptus cornuta**).
Sugar gum (**Eucalyptus corynocalyx**).
Cider gum (**Eucalyptus Gunnii**, **Eucalyptus Lehmannii**).
White ironbark (**Eucalyptus leucoxylon**).
Spotted gum (**Eucalyptus maculata**).
Honey scented gum (**Eucalyptus ficifolia**).
Red boxtree (**Eucalyptus polyanthemos**).
Red mahogany gum (**Eucalyptus resinifera**).
Swamp mahogany gum (**Eucalyptus robusta**).
Broad leaved ironbark (**Eucalyptus sideropholia**).
Victoria ironbark (**Eucalyptus siderosylon**).
Apple scented gum (**Eucalyptus Stuartiana**).
Forest gray gum (**Eucalyptus tereticornia**).
Honey plants occasionally yielding a surplus:
Asparagus **(Asparagus officinalis)**.
Live oak **(Quercus agifolia)**,
Blue oak **(Quercus douglassii)**,
Valley oak **(Quercus lobata)**,
Mistletoc **(Phoradendron)**.
Common mustard **(Brassica campestris)**.
Wild radish **(Raphanus sativus, Escallonia montevidensis)**,
Wild currant **(Ribes sanguineum)**,
Greasewoond **(Adenostema fasciculatum)**,
Castor oil plant **(Ricius communis)**.
Islay or bolly leaved cherry **(Cerasus illicifolia)**.
Bitter almond **(Prunus amygdalus)**.
Apricot **(Prunus amygdalus)**.
Apricot **(Prunus armeniaca)**,
Cherry **(Prunus cerasus)**.
Plun and prune **(Prunus domestica)**.
Peach **(Prunus persica)**,
Raspberry **(Rubus strigosus)**.
Cultivated blackberry **(Rubus villosus)**,
Hinalalyan berry **(Rubus villosus var)**.
Common wild blackberey **(Rubus vitifoliaus)**.
Black wattle **(Acacia decurrens mollis)**.
Golden wattle **(Acacia pycenantha)**.
kattleweed **(Astragalus)**.
Yellow sweet clover **(Melilotus indica)**.
Locust **(Robinia pseudo-acacia)**,
Sour clover **(Trifolium fucatum)**.
Aslike **(Trifolium hybridum)**.
Gorse **(Ulex europaeus)**.
Mandarin **(Citrus nobilis, Croton callifornicus)**,
Turkey mnlein **(Eremocarpus setigerus, Cennothus cuneatus)**.
Wild lilac **(Ceanothus, Rhammus correcca)**.
Grape **(Vitis vinifera)**.
Cotton **(Gossypium herbaceum, Godetia bottae)**,
California waterweed **(Jussiae californica)**.
Sweet fennel **(Foeniculum vulgare)**.
Madrona **(Arbutus menziesii)**.
Oregon ash **(Frazinus oregona)**.
Olive **(Olea europaea)**.
Morning glory **(Convolvulus arvensis, Gilia chamissonis)**.
Hill vervenia **(Phacelia distans, Phacelia ramoissima)**.
Heliotrope **(Heliotropium)**.
Lawn plant **(Lippia repens)**,
Wild verhena **(Verbena prostrata)**.
Yerba Biena **(Micromeria chamissonis)**.
Hedge nettle **(Stachys bullata)**.
California figwort (Scrophularia californica). Simpson's honey plant (Scrophularia vernalis). Watermelon (Citrullus vulgaris). Cantaloupe (Cucumis mello). Cucumber (Cucumis sativus), Winter squash (Cucurbita moschata). Pumpkin (Cucurbita peppo). Globe artichoke (Cynara Scolymus). Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus), Mayweed (Anthemis cotula). Beggar ticks (Bidens frondosa). Spanish needle (Bidens pilosa, Coreopsis gigantea).
Cultivated plants that would rank with the above had they a wider distribution: Mignonette (Reseda odorata). White tree clover (Cystisus proliferus, Melilotus bicolor). Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima).
Honey plants not known to yield a surplus: Corn (Zea mays). Tanbark oak (Quercus densiflora). - Virgin's hower (Clematis ligusticifolia, Clematis). California laurel (Umbellularia californica). California poppy (Eschscholtzia californica). Cream cups (Platystemon californicus). Canyon gooseberry (Ribes menzieuil). (Western) chokecherry (Cerasus demissa). Rose (Rosa californica). Wild sweet pea (Lathyrus splendens). Lupin (Lupinus affinis). Nonesuch (Medicago lupulina). Red clover (Trifolium pratense). Spring vetch (Vicia sativa). Maple (Acer negundo). Virginia creeper (Ampelopsis quinquefolia). California wild grape (Vitis californica). Small flowered mallow (Malva parviflora). White mallow (Malva sylvestris, Heliumchemum scoparium). Milkweed (Asclepias mexicana). Milkweed (Asclepias speciosa). Dodder (Cuscuta). Common heliotrope (Heliotropium curassavicum). Tournefortia heliotropoides. Tule unit (Mentha canadensis). Pennyroyal (Monardella lanceolata). Loving sage (Salvia amabilis). Winter savory (Satureia montana Stachys ajugoides. Stachys albens. Veronica andersonii. Common plantain (Plantego major). Wild honeystackle (Lonicera). Blue elderberry (Sambucus glauca). Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus), Encelia californica, Eriophyllum confertiflorum, Heterotheca grandiflora, Malacothris saxatilis, Common sow thistle (Sonchus oleraeus, Sonchus maruanthus). --M. C. Richter, Bulletin 217, Agricultural Experiment Station, Cal. CALIFORNIA POPPY, see Poppy. CAMPANILLA (Ipomoea). The campanilas, or Christmas bells, are plants similar to our American morning-glory, which are common to Cuba and adjacent countries. The vines are perennial and grow to considerable size, covering wayside fences, trees, etc. The name Christmas bells, applied to white bellflower, comes from the fact that the height of the blooming period is reached near the holiday season. There are two species, known as white campanilla **(Ipomoea sidaefolia),** and the pink bellflower **(Ipomoea triloba).** The latter blooms a month or two before the white variety.
The honey, according to Root's A B C, is equal to alfalfa or sage in color and flavor, the comb built during a campanilla flow being pearly white and the was, when melted, as white as tallow.
Figure 35: Cating blossons.
## 6 CAMPHOR WEED, see Blue Cards.
CANADA THISTLE (Carduns arvenis).
The Canada thistle is a most troublesome weed, naturalized from Europe and widely spread through Eastern America. It is a perennial plant, growing from one to two feet high. The roots creep extensively, thus gradually spreading the plant to surrounding areas. It is very persistent and difficult to eradicate. It is common in fields, pastures and along roads.
It is the source of a light honey of good quality. It is most frequently reported as a source of surplus in Ontario and the Eastern States.
CANADIAN HEMP, see Dogbane,
CARPET GRASS (Lippia).
The carpet grass of California (Lippia repens) is a native of Chili which has been introduced on the Pacific Coast and widely cultivated as a lawn plant. It is known as lawn plant, carpet grass and lippia. It is much sought by the bees and is the source of some honey, a surplus of two cases per colony being not unusual, according to C. D. Stuart. The honey, he states, is light amber, heavy body, and similar in quality to alfalfa. The plant is of trailing habit, spreading by rooting of runners like strawberries. Fig. 34.
Lippia nodiflora, mat grass or fog fruit, is native to California, and, according to Richter, is the principal source of surplus honey in the vicinity of Sacramento. Three-fourths of the surplus honey from Sutter County he reports as from this source. There it begins to bloom in May and lasts till frost. According to Jepson, the plant is esteemed as a covering for leveves, to resist erosion. It is especially valuable on overflowed lands after the water recedes. The honey is said to be light in color, mild in flavor, and to granulate readily.
CARROT (Daucus carota).
The carrot is a well-known garden vegetable which came from
Figure 34: Carpet grass or Lippia.
Europe and is everywhere cultivated in gardens. It has escaped and become naturalized over a wide scope of country. It yields some honey, and where grown on a large scale for seed or for the roots, it is valuable for the bees.
We quote Richter as follows:
"Honey white, with a characteristic flavor, and granulating within a few months after extraction. A most excellent yielder in the Sacramento Valley, where it is considered to surpass the onion as a honey plant."--Honey Plants of California.
**CASCARA SAGRADA, see Buckthorn. CASSIA, see Partridge Pea. CASTOR BEAN (Ricinus communis).**
The castor'bean, or castor oil plant, is often cultivated for the oil contents of the beans. Large areas were planted during the late war, especially in Texas. The plant has escaped from cultivation and become naturalized in the Southeastern States. It is generally planted for ornament over a large scope of country. It is reported as very attractive to the bees and of some value for honey, where sufficiently abundant. Scholl lists it in the Texas bulletin as yielding well in favorable seasons. Richter lists it also for California.
Figure 36: Catuity.
## Castor oil PLANT, see Castor Bean.
### Catalpa (Catalpa speciosa).
The catalog tree produces a great profusion of bloom. The blossoms are so large that a bee can readily crawl right into the heart of the flower.
The testimony of competent observers gives an unqualified indorscement of the catalpa as a nectar producer, though there is slight mention of it in our literature. The fact that large areas of these trees are being planted for timber, in many places, makes them of special interest to the beekeeper. The catalpa, or Indian bean **(Catalpa speciosa)** is a native of the woodlands of southern Indiana and Tennessee, west to Arkansas. This form, known as the hardy catalpa, is also widely planted in Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska and other States. There is another similar species closely resembling it which occurs further south, and is common in the Gulf States.
The leaves are heart-shaped and the blossoms are large, nearly white, and grow in large clusters, as shown in Fig. 35. The tree grows very rapidly furnishing desirable timber for fence posts, telephone poles, railroad ties, etc. In Kansas, large areas have been planted by the railroad companies for the purpose of growing ties. Beekeepers situated near such plantings should find the trees of material value.
### Catnip (Nepeta Cataria).
Catinip, or catmint, was introduced from Europe, and cultivated in herb gardens. It is thus an escaped introduction and has become very widely naturalized in the United States, although it is generally considered a weed. It is usually found only in the vicinity of buildings and gardens, and seldom spreads into the fields to any extent. Almost all of us remember the popularity of catnip tea among the grandmothers of an earlier generation. The plant is a perennial, growing from 2 to 3 feet high, with flowers in clusters, the more conspicuous ones being in a terminal spike. The blooming season is rather long, and the bees visit it very freely. Apparently, the plant yields much nectar, although it is seldom present in sufficient quantity to test its real value as a honey producer. If it had sufficient value for other purposes to justify its cultivation, it would probably be an important source of nectar.
### Catsclaw, see Acacia.
### Cat's EAR (Hypochaeris radicata).
Cat's ear, sometimes called California dandclion, is abundant west of the Cascade Mountains in Washington and south to California. It is a naturalized European weed in pastures and fields, blooming in midsummer. According to H. A. Scullen, it supplies considerable nectar in Washington. It is amber color and in some localities darkens the fireweed honey.
## CELASTRUS Scandens, see Bittersweet. CELERY (Apium gravelens).
The blossoms of the cultivated celery yield nectar abundantly, and where grown for seed, it is a valuable source of honey. In the seed belt of California it yields well, as the following will indicate:
"I saw the hives stacked five or six high and on opening them we found them jammed full of honey; in fact, the bees should have had room long before, but Mr. Gear had had difficulty in getting help, and the bees had got ahead of him. The colonies were so crowded that the space between the frames and the tops of the hives were built full of burr combs. All this honey was from celery and parsing. * * On our arrival at the field it was easy to see that there was honey in the blossoms. In the sunlight the little drops of nectar gleaned like myriads of little diamonds. * * I tasted some of the raw nectar from the celery. Sure enough, there was quite a strong suggestion of celery flavor."--E. R. Root, Gleanings, Nov. 1919, page 712.
## CENTAUREA
There are several species of centaurea which yield nectar. The common common flower of the gardens (Centaurea Cyanus), also known as blue-bottle, bluet, ragged sailor or batchelor's button, is a good honey plant. The bees work upon it from morning till night, though it is seldom sufficiently abundant to be important as a source of surplus. Richter lists this species from California as commonly cultivated. He also lists the Napa thistle, or tacalote **(Centaureau melitenais),** as yielding some honey of light amber color, good flavor and fair body. This species is known in the southeastern States as Lombardy star thistle. (See Star Thistle.)
## CENTAV PLANT (Agave).
The agaves are an important group of long-lived perennial plants native to Tropical America, Mexico and, to some extent, to the southwestern United States. Each plant has a cluster of numerous fleshy leaves and, when blooming, a tall flower stalk. There are at least five species native to the United States. The range is southern New Mexico, Arizona and Cali
Figure 37: The century plant is slow to bloom, but is a striking sight when it does so,fornia. The best known is the common century plant (**Agave americana),** an introduced species, cultivated for ornament. This is a conspicuous figure of ornamental planting in southern California.
In Mexico some species of agaves furnish fibre, while others are the source of pulque and mescal, intoxicating drinks much used in the country below the Rio Grande.
The plants do not bloom until they are several years old. The flower stalks grow very rapidly and reach a height of 25 or 30 feet within a few weeks' time. When in bloom they secrete nectar in abundance, and the bees swarm over them in great numbers. As will be seen by the illustration, the flower stalks support innumerable blossoms, so that a single plant will yield a considerable amount of honey. The fact that the plants are nowhere abundant in this country, together with the long period which must elapse before they bloom, makes it improbable that they will ever be of much importance to American beekeepers.
## 11 Cephalanthus, see Button Bush.
**CHAMISE, see Greasewood.**
## 11 CHAPMAN HONEY PLANT (Echinops spheorecephalus).
The Chapman honey plant was introduced from France about 1885. The bee journals of 1886 and 1887 devote a large amount of space to a discussion of this plant. It was brought prominently to the attention of American beekeepers by Hiran Chapman, of Versailles, New York, who planted about three acres of it at that place. He made such glowing reports of the plant at the National Bekeepers' Convention that a committee of prominent men was appointed to visit the Chapman home and report on the new plant at the convention of the following year. They made a lengthy and very favorable report, which is published in full on page 28 of the American Bee Journal for January 5, 1887.
Numerous beekeepers secured seed, and so attractive did the plant prove to the bees that favorable reports appeared frequently in the columns of the journals for the next few years. However, the great expectations were not realized, for it soon disappeared, and is seldom mentioned in current literature. The following question from Dr. C. C. Miller, which appeared in Gleanings, in December, 1998, is probably a correct estimate of the value of the plant:
"After reading the British Bee Journal of September 26, I should have made a vigorous effort to secure a supply of seed of **Echinops Spoorecephalus,** if I had no previous experience with the plant. No bee plant that I have ever grown was so attractive to the bees. Whenever the weather was favorable the heads were crowded. I have counted fourteen or fifteen bees on one at the same time.
This is the Chapman honey plant that had a big boom in this country a number of years ago; but it is not heard of now, and is not included among the honey plants in the bee books. Upon its introduction I planted quite a patch of it, and like Mr. Harwood, I never saw the bees so thick on any other plant. But close observation showed that the bees were not in eager haste in their usual way when getting a big yield, but were in large part idle. It looked a little as if the plant had some kind of stupefying effect on them. At any rate, I should not take the trouble to plant it now, if land and seed were furnished free.
#### CHAYOTE (Sechium edule)
Chayote is a vegetable of the squash family, commonly grown in the American Tropics. It is found in Mexico, Cuba, Porto Rico and other countries in that latitude. There has been some discussion of the plant in the bee magazines and occasionally the plants have been grown in American gardens. That it is a valuable honey plant there can be but little doubt. J. J. Siebert, writing from Porto Rico to the American Bee Journal, says that it is all that it is claimed to be, and that as a source of nectar it has only one rival, the banana, blossoming all the year round. The following is from the U. S. Department of Agriculture, Bulletin No. 28:
"As in other vegetables of the squash family, the stannens and pistis are in separate flowers, pollination taking place through the agency of insects. To attract these, the flowers of both kinds, but especially the pistillate, yield abundant nectar, which is secreted in ten glands, two at the base of each of the lobes of the corolla. In most of the countries into which it has been introduced, beekeeping has not been a regular industry, and the value of the chayote as a source of honey has not been noticed, but the reports of experimenters in New South Wales contain very emphatic statements on the subject:
"When the plant is in flower I have noticed that the vines were swarming with bees, and as flowers are scarce in the autumn, the plant will no doubt be valuable as a honey-producer.
"The plant, which spreads over a large area, commenced flowering at the close of the year, and has been well laden with mellifluous blossoms ever since. The bees are extremely fond of the chocho, and with the apiarist the newly-introduced plant must become a strong favorite."
"The chayote differs from many cucurbiaceae in producing numerous flowers on each fertile branch. It has long been known that the flowers of this family are rich in honey, but from the standpoint of the beekeeper they have been considered of little importance, because seldom accessible in sufficient amount, though in the United States fields are recognized as good bee pastures. The chayote seems to make up by numbers what the flowers lack in size, so that the yield of honey may be larger than in related plants. In addition to this there is the fact that Sechium is a perennial bloomer in the Tropics, and in the subtropical regions has a very long season. It is thus possible that in the regions like parts of Florida, where beekeeping is already an established industry, the honey-producing qualities of the chayote may be found of practical account in connection with its other utilities."
#### CHEROKEE ROSE (Rosa laevigata)