Terms of flowering honey plants in the USA and Canada

According to observations of naturalists and beekeepers.

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Scientific name:

Vaccinium angustifolium

Life form:

Shrub.

Flowering time:

no data.

Flowering period

in Connecticut for this plant is: April.

NECTAR PRODUCTION:
No data

SOURCE FOR HONEY BEES:
Minor in most areas


General distribution:

Lowbush blueberry grows from Labrador and Newfoundland westward to southern Manitoba and Minnesota.  It extends southward to northern Illinois in the West, and from New England through the Appalachians to West Virginia and Virginia in the East.

Lowbush blueberry is an important recolonizer.  Its sprouts are prominent on disturbed sites such as clearcuts, burns, fields, and pastures.  Cover is typically higher on fields derived from hayfields than those derived from woodlots.  Lowbush blueberry is an important seral species during the transition from field to forest in various eastern old-field communities.

Map of distribution and habitat in USA

This plant is present in at least 30 states/provinces in this country.

See The Map

Botanical description:

Vaccinium angustifolium is a low spreading deciduous shrub growing 5 to 60 cm (2 to 24 in) tall. Its rhizomes can lay dormant up to 100 years, and when given the adequate amount of sunlight, soil moisture, and oxygen content they will sprout. The leaves are glossy blue-green in summer, turning a variety of reds in the fall. The leaf shape is broad to elliptical. Buds are brownish red in stem axils. The flowers are white, bell-shaped, 4 to 6 mm (0.16 to 0.24 in) long. The fruit is a small sweet dark blue to black berry, full of antioxidants and flavonoids. This plant grows best in wooded areas, old abandoned farmyards or open areas with well-drained acidic soils. 

Seasonal development:

Phenological development of lowbush blueberry varies according to geographic location and specific weather conditions. Temperature and day length are important regulatory influences. Initial floral development begins in the year before flowering and fruiting.  Floral bud primordia appear during June and early July when day length reaches approximately 15 hours.  Development may continue until late October if air temperatures remain above 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 deg C) with long periods above 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 deg C).  Leaves harden by mid-July, color by late August, and abscise by late October.

Plants generally flower in May or June of their 2nd year.  A few flowers may open as early as March in unusually good years, and some plants occasionally flower as late as September or October. Flowering may be delayed by 2 or 3 weeks in cool, coastal areas. Fruit generally ripens from midsummer to late summer, approximately 50 days after anthesis.


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List of honey plants that may be blooming now in Connecticut
See the entire list

Cercis canadensis (aka: Eastern redbud, Redbud, Cersis Reniformis)

Aronia arbutifolia (aka: Red chokeberry)

Acer saccharinum (aka: Silver maple, Soft maple)

Acer negundo (aka: Boxelder, Western boxelder, Arizona boxelder, California boxelder, Texas boxelder, Interior boxelder, Violet boxelder)

Pyrus communis (aka: European pear, Common pear)

Salix nigra (aka: Black willow, Swamp willow, Southwestern black willow, Gulf black willow, Scythe-leaved willow)

Salix lucida (aka: Shining willow, Greenleaf willow, Tail-leaf willow, Whiplash willow, Pacific willow, Lance-leaf willow, Longleaf willow, Red willow, Western shining willow)

Prunus cerasus (aka: Sour cherry, Tart cherry, Dwarf cherry, Montmorency cherry)

Prunus pumila (aka: Sandcherry, Western sandcherry, Eastern sandcherry, Great Lakes sandcherry)

Liriodendron tulipifera (aka: Tuliptree, Blue-poplar, Tulip-poplar, Yellow-poplar, Yellow wood)

Salix bebbiana (aka: Bebb willow, Beak willow, Beaked willow, Long-beaked willow, Diamond willow, Chaton, Petit Minou, Smooth Bebb willow)

Ulmus americana (aka: American elm, White elm, Water elm, Soft elm, Florida elm)

Malus domestica (aka: Pyrus pumila, Malus pumila, Apple)

Acer platanoides (aka: Norway maple)

Acer saccharum (aka: Sugar maple, Rock maple, Hard maple)

Celtis occidentalis (aka: Common hackberry, Bastard elm, Nettle-tree, Northern hackberry)

Ilex opaca (aka: American holly, Dune holly, Hummock holly, Scrub holly)

Viburnum prunifolium (aka: Blackhaw, Black haw, Blackhaw viburnum, Sweet haw, Stag bush, Smooth Blackhaw Viburnum, Stagbush, Viburnum bushii)

Rubus idaeus (aka: Raspberry, Black-haired red raspberry, Brilliant red raspberry, American red raspberry, Red raspberry, Smoothleaf red raspberry, Wild raspberry, Wild red raspberry, Grayleaf raspberry)

Catalpa speciosa (aka: Northern catalpa, Hardy catalpa, Western catalpa, Cigar tree, Catawba-tree, Bois chavanon)

Rubus canadensis (aka: Smooth blackberry, Thornless blackberry, Canadian blackberry, Smooth highbush blackberry)

Acer pensylvanicum (aka: Striped maple, Moosewood, Goosefoot maple, Whistlewood)

Acer spicatum (aka: Mountain maple, Low maple, Moose maple, Water maple, Plaine batarde, Fouereux)

Ajuga reptans (aka: Bugle, Blue bugle, Bugleherb, Bugleweed, Carpetweed, Carpet bugleweed, Common bugle, St. Lawrence plant)

Astragalus (aka: Milkvetch, Locoweed, Goat's-thorn)

Vaccinium corymbosum (aka: Highbush blueberry, High-bush blueberry, Northern highbush blueberry, Tall blueberry, Rabbiteye blueberry, Blue huckleberry, Tall huckleberry, Swamp huckleberry, High blueberry, Swamp blueberry)

Rhus glabra (aka: Smooth sumac, Common sumac, Rocky Mountain sumac, Red sumac, Western sumac, White sumac)

Allium schoenoprasum (aka: Chives)

Brassica napus (aka: Rapeseed)

Sinapis arvensis (aka: Charlock mustard, California rape, Charlock, Corn mustard, Canola, Kaber mustard, Rapeseed mustard)

Gleditsia triacanthos (aka: Honey locust, Honey shucks locust, Common honeylocust, Sweet bean locust)

Rubus phoenicolasius (aka: Wine raspberry, Japanese wineberry, Wineberry)

Aronia melanocarpa (aka: Black chokeberry, Rowan, Mountain Ash, Sorbus)

Prunus serotina (aka: Black cherry, Wild black cherry, Rum cherry, Mountain black cherry, Wild cherry)

Prunus pensylvanica (aka: Pin cherry, Fire cherry, Bird cherry)

Robinia pseudoacacia (aka: Black locust, False acacia, Yellow locust, White locust, Green locust, Post locust, Falsa acacia, Robinia)

Asclepias tuberosa (aka: Butterflyweed, Butterfly Milkweed, Orange Milkweed, Pleurisy Root, Chigger Flower, Canada root, Fluxroot, Indian paintbrush, Indian posy, Orange root, Orange Swallow-wort, Tuber root, Yellow milkweed, White-root, Windroot, Butterfly love)

Calendula officinalis (aka: Marigold, Calendula, Pot marigold, English marigold)

Rhamnus cathartica (aka: Common buckthorn, European buckthorn, Dahurian buckthorn)

Tilia americana (aka: American basswood, Basswood, Linden)