Japanese chestnut
The chestnut of Japan and Korea; its scented June catkins give abundant nectar and pollen, and Korea's dark, bitter chestnut honey, a major honey type, comes from it.
- Nectar
- Very good
- Pollen
- Very good
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Crystallisation
- Slow
- Pollen colour
- Height
- 10-15 m
- Life cycle
- Perennial
🐝 Add to my apiary
Log in to add it to your apiary.Value for beekeeping
Japanese chestnut is the native chestnut of Japan and Korea and is grown in large orchards for its nuts in both countries. Like the European chestnut, it flowers in long, scented, cream-coloured spikes and is very rich in both nectar and pollen. In Korea, chestnut honey is one of the most produced monofloral honeys after acacia honey.
Flowering
It flowers for about two to three weeks from early to mid-June. Nectar secretion rises in hot, humid weather; in cool, rainy Junes the flow weakens.
Honey and pollen
The honey ranges from dark amber to brown and has a sharp, bitter, tannic taste; because of its high fructose content it crystallises slowly. The pollen is light yellow and is collected in abundance. In places aphid honeydew also gets mixed into the honey.
Note for the beekeeper
Because it is more resistant to chestnut blight than the European chestnut, it is used in hybrid breeding work; hybrid saplings are also available in Turkey. Such orchards contribute to the June flow, as in the chestnut areas of the Black Sea region.