Oriental sweetgum
A threatened resinous tree almost confined to south-west Anatolia; no nectar and little pollen. Its value lies in its resin and the wetland forests that need protection.
- Nectar
- None
- Pollen
- Low
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Height
- 15-25 m
- Life cycle
- Perennial
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Oriental sweetgum is a species almost endemic to Turkey, growing around Köyceğiz, Marmaris and Fethiye in Muğla, in western Antalya and also on Rhodes. It forms pure stands on plains and stream banks with a high water table. Its flowers are small, greenish, ball-shaped heads and are wind-pollinated; it gives no nectar, and bees collect its pollen only rarely.
Flowering
It flowers in April-May, together with leaf-out.
Honey and pollen
It is not a honey source. The fragrant resin obtained by wounding the trunk has been known for centuries as storax (Turkish: sığla yağı or günlük); it is thought that bees may use the tree's resin for making propolis, but there are few detailed studies on this.
Note for the beekeeper
Its forests have shrunk under pressure from farming and building, and they are legally protected. Apiaries in the area must not damage the trees; the real bee forage is the shrubs and herbs along the edges of the sweetgum forests.