Terms of flowering honey plants in the USA and Canada

According to observations of naturalists and beekeepers.

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Scientific name:

Prunus armeniaca

Life form:

Tree.

Flowering time:

no data.
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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.

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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