WILLOW. (Salix) Extraordinary value for pollen early in the spring; yields some nectar. Early brood-rearing is largely dependent upon this source.

WILLOW HERB. (Epilobium angustifolium) Also called fireweed and Indian pink. Is found only in the northern part of the State. Being confined to the lumbering regions upon areas that have been burned over, it has been called "fireweed." After forest fires it seems to spring up spontaneously, monopolizing the soil itself. It is a perennial herb, two to six feet in height, flowers pink to purple, in spike-like racemes. Flowers from July to frost, the flowers maturing in series upward on the stem. Willow-herb yields large quantities of honey, very light in color and of excellent flavor. Considering the quality of the honey, and its unfailing supply makes it one of the most valuable honey plants to the beekeeper in those sections of northern Wisconsin where it abounds. A failure of this plant is not known and immense crops of white honey are the rule. There are hundreds of acres in northern Wisconsin where this plant grows without bees to gather the nectar, but it is only a question of time when such territory will be occupied by the beekeeper.