Tamarix smyrnensis
Salt-tolerant shrub of sandy coasts and riverbanks that flowers in flushes from spring to late summer, giving long-lasting nectar and pollen.
- Nectar
- Good
- Pollen
- Medium
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Height
- 2-5 m
- Life cycle
- Perennial
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Tamarix smyrnensis grows on salty, sandy soils along Turkey's coasts, in deltas and by lakes, and is one of the most widespread tamarisk species in Turkey. Its small pink flowers open in dense racemes; the exposed nectar is easily taken by honey bees. Pollen is also collected regularly.
Flowering
The first main flowering is in April-May; on young shoots it keeps flowering in new flushes throughout the summer, until September. This long, intermittent flowering eases the summer dearth for coastal apiaries.
Honey and honeydew
A commercial tamarisk honey is not common; tamarisk nectar ends up in coastal summer honey. In the Middle East some tamarisk species are known for a sweet, insect-derived secretion (tamarisk manna); in Turkey its importance for beekeeping is minor.
Note for the beekeeper
It can be planted as a bee plant on salty land with a high water table where little else will grow; it propagates easily from cuttings and tolerates wind and salt spray.