Lilac and its benefits as a honey plant

Lilac honey plant is a perennial plant of the olive family. It looks like a shrub or tree 3-10 m high. The bark is smooth, dark gray, the leaves are heart-shaped. The flowers of the plant have a pungent smell. The inflorescences are collected in pyramidal, spreading up to 25 cm brushes, the corolla is nail-shaped four-pointed, the ovary is superior. Flowering period end of April, May, June.

The content of the article

  • 1 Significance in agriculture
  • 2 Distribution
    • 2.1 Varieties
  • 3 Honey productivity
  • 4 Medicinal properties

Significance in agriculture

It is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant – used for landscaping in city parks, along houses.

It is often planted near roads and in forest plantations, as well as to strengthen loose soils on coastal slopes and loose soil.

Distribution

Grows wild on the Balkan Peninsula, in the mountain forests of the southern Carpathians. Occurs along the lower reaches of the Danube in Bulgaria and Serbia, occupying empty slopes.

Decorative lilacs are planted throughout the territory of the former USSR to St. Petersburg, in the southern zone of taiga, forest-steppe and steppe zones of Western Siberia.

Varieties

The most common types of lilacs:

  • Amur (Japanese) – white flowers with a cream or green tint. Blooms up to 15-18 days in late May and early June. It grows in the Far East, in the regions of Northeast China and Korea.
  • Hungarian – densely branched wild shrub up to 3-4 m high. The color has a lilac-pink tint. It is not a honey plant. Blooms in May-June.
  • Common – has a lilac shade of inflorescences that bloom in May-June. They are not honey plants, although they are most often found in our country.

There are about 30 species of hybrid lilacs of a decorative nature, which also do not have a special meaning for bees.

Honey productivity

The flowers of the plant have a strong pungent odor. But the flower has an elongated shape, so nectar stands out at the very bottom – it is quite difficult for bees to get it. However, they are strongly attracted by the aroma of the inflorescence itself. Especially in hot, dry weather, when lilacs release large amounts of essential oils.

The smell has an intoxicating effect on bees, similar to the effect of valerian on cats! Heavy rains and timely feeding of insects with syrup save from mass death.

Japanese breed

A natural question arises, is Japanese lilac a honey plant or not? The answer is yes – yes, the only useful plant from this family is the Amur (Japanese) lilac. 1-30 kg of honey is collected from 40 hectare of its plantations. On average, 100 mg of nectar is obtained from 26,2 flowers.

Medicinal properties

The pollen and nectar itself contain components that help:

  • with various colds;
  • with tuberculosis;
  • with gastrointestinal problems.

The honey obtained from this plant, like other varieties of bee products, helps to strengthen the immune system and cleanse the body of toxins.

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Anna Evans

Author ✓ Farmer

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