Terms of flowering honey plants in the USA and Canada

According to observations of naturalists and beekeepers.

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Common name:

Siberian apricot

Scientific name:

Prunus armeniaca.

Life form:

Tree.

Flowering time:

no data.

Flowering period

in California for this plant is: MarchApril.

NECTAR PRODUCTION: 
Minor
 
SOURCE FOR HONEY BEES:
Minor

General distribution:

Prunus armeniaca (other scientific name: Armeniaca vulgaris), the most commonly cultivated apricot species, also called ansu apricot, Siberian apricot, Tibetan apricot, is a species of Prunus, classified with the plum in the subgenus Prunus. The native range is somewhat uncertain due to its extensive prehistoric cultivation, though almost certainly somewhere in Asia. It is extensively cultivated in many countries and has escaped into the wild in many places.

Map of distribution and habitat in USA

This plant is present in at least 11 states/provinces in this country.

See The Map

Botanical description:

Prunus armeniaca is a small tree, 8–12 m tall, with a trunk up to 40 cm in diameter and a dense, spreading canopy. The leaves are ovate, 5–9 cm long and 4–8 cm wide, with a rounded base, a pointed tip, and a finely serrated margin. The flowers are 2–4.5 cm in diameter, with five white to pinkish petals; they are produced singly or in pairs in early spring before the leaves. The fruit is a drupe similar to a small peach, 1.5–2.5 cm diameter (larger in some modern cultivars), from yellow to orange, often tinged red on the side most exposed to the sun; its surface can be smooth (botanically described as glabrous) or velvety with very short hairs (botanically: pubescent). The flesh is usually firm and not very juicy. Its taste can range from sweet to tart. The single seed is enclosed in a hard, stony shell, often called a "stone", with a grainy, smooth texture except for three ridges running down one side.

Seasonal development:

Major cultivars of the USA are self-fruitful and do not require a pollinizer. Honey bees are the major pollinator.

Flowers blooming before leaf emergence. Flowering in March – April; fruiting May – July.


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List of honey plants that may be blooming now in California
See the entire list

Prunus fremontii (aka: Desert apricot)

Acer saccharinum (aka: Silver maple, Soft maple)

Cercis orbiculata (aka: California redbud, Western redbud, Arizona redbud, Judas tree, Cercis occidentalis)

Rubus ursinus (aka: California blackberry, California dewberry, California grapeleaf dewberry, Douglasberry, Pacific blackberry)

Rubus spectabilis (aka: Salmonberry)

Salix gooddingii (aka: Goodding's willow, Dudley willow, Valley willow, Western black willow)

Prunus armeniaca (aka: Armenian plum, Ansu apricot, Siberian apricot, Tibetan apricot, Apricot tree)

Prunus andersonii (aka: Desert peach, Desert peachbush, Anderson peachbush, Wild almond)

Pyrus communis (aka: European pear, Common pear)

Salix exigua (aka: Narrowleaf willow, Coyote willow)

Celtis laevigata (aka: Hackberry, Sugarberry, Lowland hackberry, Sugar hackberry, Arizona sugarberry, Netleaf hackberry, Small's hackberry, Southern hackberry, Texas sugarberry)

Acer negundo (aka: Boxelder, Western boxelder, Arizona boxelder, California boxelder, Texas boxelder, Interior boxelder, Violet boxelder)

Aesculus californica (aka: California buckeye, Buckeye, Horsechestnut)

Acer macrophyllum (aka: Bigleaf maple, Big-leaf maple, Oregon maple)

Acer glabrum (aka: Rocky Mountain maple, Douglas maple, Greene's maple, New Mexico maple, Torrey maple)

Salix lucida (aka: Shining willow, Greenleaf willow, Tail-leaf willow, Whiplash willow, Pacific willow, Lance-leaf willow, Longleaf willow, Red willow, Western shining willow)