Texas Honey Plants Part 9

COMMON h.o.a.rHOUND. Marrubium vulgare L.

Mint family. l.a.b.i.atae.

"A common escape in waste or open ground." (Coulter). Hunter: most all parts of the South; fertile places; fence corners and pens; honey yield abundant; steady flow; dark amber colored. Claimed bitter by some. February, July.*

COLEUS. Coleus blumei Benth.

Mint family. l.a.b.i.atae.

College; ornament for borders, etc. Honey yield of no importance. Bees gather pollen from it only occasionally. July.*

COMMON PIGWEED. Amaranthus retroflexus L.

Amaranth family. Amaranthaceae.

"Throughout Texas." (Coulter). Waste lands and fields; honey yield of no importance; some pollen. July, September.*

Th.o.r.n.y AMARANTH. Amaranthus spinosus L.

Amaranth family. Amaranthaceae.

"From Tom Green County to Laredo." (Coulter). Annual weedy herbs. In waste places and cultivated soils presumably pollen only; not important. August.*

MADEIRA VINE. Anredera scandens (L). Moq.

Goosefoot family. Chenopodiaceae.

"From the upper Pecos to the lower Rio Grande, (Ringgold)."

(Coulter). Hunter. Texas; cultivated for shade on verandas; honey yield fair, bees work on it industriously, but the plants are scarce. May, September.*

j.a.pANESE BUCKWHEAT. f.a.gopyrum f.a.gopyrum (L) Karst.

Buckwheat family. Polygonaceae.

Cultivated in fields in a small way; honey yield good on favorable moist mornings, not in dry weather. Honey very dark and strong in flavor; not important for bees in Texas. June, July.* "A good yielder to bridge over from early spring flower to cotton bloom at College Station, Texas." (E. Scholl).

AMERICAN MISTLETOE. Phoradendron flavescens Nutt.

Mistletoe family. Loranthaceae.

"From Eagle Pa.s.s to Central Texas. Reported on Ulmus, Prosopis, Quercus, etc." (Coulter). Honey yield abundant and also pollen, very valuable for early brood rearing. The first source for bees in the season. December, January.* "Blooms in January and February if weather is not too cold, yields pollen and honey." (Milam, D. C, Uvalde, Texas).

SPURGE. Euphorbia marginata Pursh.

Spurge family. Euphorbiaceae.

"Throughout the valleys of the Pecos and Rio Grande."

(Coulter). Along valleys and lowlands; honey yield of no importance. June, October.*

SONORA CROTON. Croton Sonorae Torr.

Spurge family. Euphorbiaceae.

"On rocky bluffs of the upper Llano." (Coulter). Hunter: open places in woodland bluffs; honey yield only light, but comes in dearth and good if rains; pollen. July, August.*

CROTON CAPITATUS MICHX.

Spurge family. Euphorbiaceae.

"From the Pecos to Southern and Central Texas." (Coulter). Roadsides and prairies; unimportant; some pollen when no other bloom. July, September.* "Plenty of pollen at College Station in August, 1907." (E.

Scholl).

TEXAS CROTON. Croton Texensis Muell.

Spurge family. Euphorbiaceae.

"From the staked plains to Corpus Christi." (Coulter). Hunter: roadsides and fields; honey yield very light, not important. June, August.*

ONE-SEEDED CROTON. Croton monanthogynus Michx.

Spurge family. Euphorbiaceae.

"Central and Southern Texas." (Coulter). Hunter: open prairies and pastures; honey yield fair, but unimportant. May, June.

CASTOR-OIL PLANT. Ricinus communis L.

Spurge family. Euphorbiaceae.

"Cultivated extensively for ornament and sparingly escaped in Missouri and southwestward to Central Mexico." (Coulter). Planted for ornamental purposes; honey yield good in favorable seasons; pollen; has glands at base of leaves. March, April.*

AMERICAN OR WHITE ELM. Ulmus Americana L.

Nettle family. Urticaceae.

"Extending westward to the streams of Southern and Central Texas."

(Coulter). College: along moist creeks and streams; honey yield good but not very plentiful. August.*

WINGED ELM or WAHOO. Ulmus alata Michx.

Nettle family. Urticaceae.

"On streams extending to the valley of the Trinity." (Coulter). Tree with corky winged branches, along streams and low soils in woods; honey yield good sometimes giving surplus; much pollen; honey of amber color and strong characteristic aroma. August, September.*

GRANJENO. Celtis pallida Torr.

Nettle family. Urticaceae.

"Very common on all mesas and foot-hills of Western and Southern Texas." (Coulter). Beekeepers value it as an important plant in Southwest Texas. March, April.*