Indian jujube
A drought-hardy fruit tree known as ber in Pakistan and India; it yields plenty of nectar in its late-summer to autumn bloom and is the main source of prized ber honey.
- Nectar
- Good
- Pollen
- Medium
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Height
- 4-12 m
- Life cycle
- Perennial
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Indian jujube is very common in the dry and semi-arid regions of South Asia, both as a garden tree and in the wild. The nectar disc of its small, greenish-yellow flowers is open and secretes abundantly; in Pakistan it is one of the main sources of the high-priced honey known as beri honey. It is also grown as an important source in the Sahel belt of Africa.
Flowering
It flowers after the monsoon rains, roughly from August to November; timing can shift by a few weeks depending on the region. The long flowering period gives the colony a steady food supply as the rains taper off.
Honey and pollen
The honey is amber, thick and distinctly aromatic; no reliable data were found on how fast it crystallises. Its pollen value is moderate.
Note for the beekeeper
In northern Australia it is causing problems as an invasive alien species. It is not frost-hardy and so does not grow outdoors in Turkey; its close relative, the jujube (Ziziphus jujuba), is a suitable option for temperate regions.