Flowering plants

[Kansas_Larry]

I am wanting to take my bee knowledge to the next level. So it seems logical to learn about the flowering plants in my area. The obvious method of learning about this would be to go to the library. However, does anyone have suggestions for websites or other materials?

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Larry

[jdagpatton]

Look for a local native plant society in your area.http://www.kansasnativeplantsociety.org/ See if they have a chapter in your area or hikes nearby. Also check with local state parks that may have wildflower hikes. Also check out the links below. I highly recommend the plant society route. You can get out and hike with people who really know their plants.

http://plants.usda.gov/
http://www.efloras.org/

[Michael Palmer]

Get a good field guide. I like Peterson the best. Try to identify flowere that you see bees working.

Then, do what AI Root said. Keep bloom times for your bee plants for five years.

[drobbins]

also, post info about when stuff blooms here

http://www.beesource.com/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=002320

I'm building an application to make use of all this data

http://www.drobbins.net:8080/blooms/map.jsp

it still has a ways to go but the success of it will depend on people putting in info for their local conditions
include the plant name, the date (if different than the post), your zipcode (really important), and any comments you can think of
in theory this thing should at least try to predict when stuff will bloom this year based on this years weather and when stuff bloomed last year, but it needs data to work

Dave

[ February 04, 2007, 07:01 PM: Message edited by: drobbins ]

[balhanapi]

Thats a great idea Dave!! Keep up the good work!
Thanks a lot.

keep it free please tongue.gif smile.gif

[Hobie]

I found I learned tons when I started taking photos of all the flowering plants and weeds at our local state park. Often there were insects visiting the flowers. I then looked them up (I, too, recommend Peterson's field guide.) Once you start looking, you see a lot more!

[Billy Y.]

I have found this site to be helpful when trying to identify flowers and such in Kansas:

http://www.lib.ksu.edu/wildflower/

[BULLSEYE BILL]

Hey Larry! If you update your profile to give us a general area in Ks. where you are, I'll give you the titles of the two books I use.

There are about four or five of us around Wichita, we should do lunch sometime.

[James Henderson]

Hey drobbins,

Great website! How about including the Latin name of each plant too if not too much trouble.

I'll send you the flower dates for the plants on the Tohono O’odham Nation this year.

[Kansas_Larry]

Thanks for all the input. I live in Newton, Kansas. I will be very interested in taking advantage of the recourses everyone suggested.

It would be cool to have everyone around the Wichita area get together for b-fast and talk bees. Kansas Honey Producers meetings are a little inconvenient and it would be good to get something going on down here.

Larry

[Jethro]

Bill I'm in Atchison, Kansas do those books cover me up here also? If so could you share those titles with me?

[BULLSEYE BILL]

FIELD GUIDE TO THE COMMON WEEDS OF KANSAS by T. M. Barkley,
1983 by Kansas State University
ISBN 0-7006-0233-X
ISBN 0-7006-0224-0
The book is black and white and covers the entire state.

ROADSIDE WILDFLOWERS of the Southern Great Plains
Craig Cl Freeman & Eileen K. Schofield
1991 by University Press of Kasnsas
Full color
Covers the area from KC to Denver, Omaha to OKC to south of Amarillo

Both books can be ordered at www.parktrust.org (http://www.parktrust.org)
I bought mine when I stopped in here -> http://www.parktrust.org/zbar.html

[ February 07, 2007, 11:55 PM: Message edited by: BULLSEYE BILL ]

[BjornBee]

Most of the flower books, etc., tells you what flower bloom, where they grow, etc. But many do not focus directly on bee or honey information. They don't distinguish between a nectar source plant and a non-nectar source plant.

There are a few that focuses directly on bees and honey flow information. One I use often is "American Honey Plants" by Frank C Pellet. I have a dated 1947 copy that may not have all the hybrid gardening plants of today, but it has all the basic plants, talks about regions, honey flows by states with main and minor flow plants, etc. It is one of the better flower/plant books I have seen directly dealing with bees/honey/pollen. Well worth finding an old copy.

[balhanapi]

" American Honey Plants; Together with Those which are of Special Value to the Beekeeper as Sources of Pollen; Third edition, revised and Enlarged (Third Edition, Revised and Enlarged)"

This book is avaiable at amazon for $65. Is this the book you are talking about Bjorn? and is it worth it? I mean can't we find it cheaper somewhere else?
Thanks :)

[BjornBee]

balhanapi,
I enetered "American Honey Plants" in the book section of Amazon, and it was the first one that listed. It was priced at $35 For a good copy of the one I have, I think its a good price. Although I got mine at an auction with some other bee books for a couple of dollars. ;)

The one you mention was listed second and I have no idea about it. Its not the one I have. And for 65 dollars, I would look awhile thats for sure.

[BerkeyDavid]

I like "Weeds of the Northeast." But I especially enjoy the articles in American Beekeeper. Every month they run a column on a different group of plants.

Last month it was milkweed. THis month it is the Butterfly Plant. Anyone have success propogating it? Another name for it is pleurisy root (Asclepias tuberosa).

We have a few of them but after reading the article I am going to try to get more of them. Its range is pretty widespread and it is described as a wonderful honey plant.

[George Fergusson]

I really like the Connecticut Botanical Society site, I use it a lot:

http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/