Terms of flowering honey plants in the USA and Canada

According to observations of naturalists and beekeepers.

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Common name:

Thornless blackberry

Scientific name:

Rubus canadensis.

Life form:

Shrub.

Flowering time:

16 - 23 days.

Flowering period

in District of Columbia for this plant is: MayJune.

NECTAR PRODUCTION:
30 kilograms per ha

SOURCE FOR HONEY BEES:
Major in some areas


General distribution:

Smooth blackberry's range extends from Newfoundland to Ontario and along the Atlantic Coast south to Georgia and inland to Kentucky and Tennessee.

Smooth blackberry is a common understory species in open deciduous forests, on mountain ridges, and in disturbed areas.

Map of distribution and habitat in USA

This plant is present in at least 28 states/provinces in this country.

See The Map

Botanical description:

This rhizomatous shrub forms thickets up to 2 to 3 meters (7–10 feet) tall. The leaves are deciduous and alternately arranged, each measuring 10 to 20 centimeters (4-8 inches) long. The inflorescence is a cluster of up to 25 flowers. The fruit is an aggregate of many small drupes, each of which contains a tiny nutlet. The plant reproduces by seed, by sprouting up from the rhizome, and by layering. The stems can grow one meter (40 inches) in height in under two months.

Seasonal development:

Smooth blackberry grows across a wide range of sites throughout the cool, moist climate of the Northeast.  It is very common in woods, old fields, cool hollows, and along roadsides.

Smooth blackberry flowers from May to June.  Fruits ripen in early summer and persist into September.  The seed disperses in September.


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

Acer saccharinum (aka: Silver maple, Soft maple)

Salix nigra (aka: Black willow, Swamp willow, Southwestern black willow, Gulf black willow, Scythe-leaved willow)

Cercis canadensis (aka: Eastern redbud, Redbud, Cersis Reniformis)

Malus angustifolia (aka: American crab apple, Buncombe crab apple, Crabtree, Narrowleaf crab, Narrowleaf crab apple, Southern crab, Southern crab apple)

Aronia arbutifolia (aka: Red chokeberry)

Ulmus americana (aka: American elm, White elm, Water elm, Soft elm, Florida elm)

Acer rubrum (aka: Red maple, Scarlet maple)

Salix discolor (aka: Pussy willow, American pussy willow, Glaucous willow, Large pussy willow)

Pyrus communis (aka: European pear, Common pear)

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

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

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

Malus domestica (aka: Pyrus pumila, Malus pumila, Apple)

Prunus cerasus (aka: Sour cherry, Tart cherry, Dwarf cherry, Montmorency cherry)

Malus coronaria (aka: Sweet crab apple, Garland crab, Alabama crab, Allegheny crab, American crab, Baltimore crab apple, Buncombe crab, Dawson crab, Dunbar crab, Fragrant crab, Garland tree, Lanceleaf crab apple, Missouri crab, Sweet-scented crab, Sweet wild crab, Wild crab, Wild sweet crab, Wild Crab Apple)

Acer saccharum (aka: Sugar maple, Rock maple, Hard maple)

Populus tremuloides (aka: Quaking aspen, Trembling aspen, Aspen, American aspen, Mountain aspen, Golden aspen, Trembling poplar, White poplar, Popple, Alamo Blanco)

Liriodendron tulipifera (aka: Tuliptree, Blue-poplar, Tulip-poplar, Yellow-poplar, Yellow wood)

Prunus pumila (aka: Sandcherry, Western sandcherry, Eastern sandcherry, Great Lakes sandcherry)

Vaccinium corymbosum (aka: Highbush blueberry, High-bush blueberry, Northern highbush blueberry, Tall blueberry, Rabbiteye blueberry, Blue huckleberry, Tall huckleberry, Swamp huckleberry, High blueberry, Swamp blueberry)

Salix bebbiana (aka: Bebb willow, Beak willow, Beaked willow, Long-beaked willow, Diamond willow, Chaton, Petit Minou, Smooth Bebb willow)

Prunus americana (aka: American plum, Goose plum, River plum, Wild plum)

Ilex opaca (aka: American holly, Dune holly, Hummock holly, Scrub holly)

Acer platanoides (aka: Norway maple)