Southern catalpa
A park tree with large white, purple-spotted flower panicles in June-July; floral and leaf nectaries give bees a moderate early-summer nectar supply.
- Nectar
- Medium
- Pollen
- Low
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Height
- 10-15 m
- Life cycle
- Perennial
🐝 Add to my apiary
Log in to add it to your apiary.Value for beekeeping
The southern catalpa is a broad-leaved tree from the south-eastern United States, planted as a park and street tree in Europe and Turkey. The yellow stripes and purple spots inside its large bell-shaped flowers guide bees to the nectar. Honeybees and bumblebees visit the flowers; in addition, extrafloral nectaries at the base of the leaf veins also secrete.
Flowering
It flowers for about 2-3 weeks in June-July, at the same time as lime. The flowers are more fragrant in the late afternoon and in the morning.
Honey and pollen
No separate honey is obtained; its contribution goes into early summer mixed honey. The amount of pollen is small.
Note for the beekeeper
For urban apiaries it is a supporting source in early summer. Because of its long, bean-like pods it is popularly called the cigar tree. It is moderately frost-hardy; young trees can be damaged in the harsh winters of inland regions.