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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee
See the entire list

Acer rubrum (aka: Red maple, Scarlet maple)

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

Acer saccharinum (aka: Silver maple, Soft maple)

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)

Amelanchier arborea (aka: Common serviceberry, Downy serviceberry, Juneberry, Shadbush, Shadblow, Sugarplum)

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

Prunus serotina (aka: Black cherry, Wild black cherry, Rum cherry, Mountain black cherry, Wild cherry)

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

Pyrus communis (aka: European pear, Common pear)

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)

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)