Honey Plants

A honey plant may be defined as a common plant which secretes nectar accessible to honeybees in quantities sufficiently large enough to be of importance to beekeepers.

The only characteristics that the honey plants have in common are that they secrete more nectar accessible to honeybees, more or less freely, and are common in one or more localities. Otherwise they exhibit great differences. They belong to widely separated families; including herbs, shrubs and trees, native and exotic species, and wild and cultivated plants.

Honeys vary greatly in color, density, flavor, and in the length of time they remain liquid.
Below are images and descriptions of plant that have helped make Bee Chama Honeys.

Alfalfa Wildflower Honey

(Plant origin, New Mexico)

The Alfalfa fields in the Rio Grande River Valley are small in comparison to most and broken by many ditch systems and roads. This allows for many different wild flower nectars to be mixed into alfalfa nectar collected by the bees. Depending on exactly which bee yard the honey is harvested from it may also contain Desert Marigold, Tamarisk, Willow, Russian Olive, or Sage. This wildflower honey has a very traditional honey flavor and is wonderfully diverse. Great for teas, baking & cooking, dressings, glazes and more.

 

 Buckwheat Honey

(Plant origin, Washington)

A new addition to our honey family, this is the darkest variety we have available. Considered to be the highest in anti-oxidants & mineral contents of all honeys produced in the states. This variety of buckwheat is produced in Washington state and strongly resembles the smells and tastes of a farm. If you like the taste of molasses, you will love this stout honey. Super good with butter & biscuits!

Cat's Claw/Mesquite Honey

(Plant origin, New Mexico/Arizona)

This variety has the widest variation from season to season. It depends greatly on the amount of rainfall early in the spring in Southern New Mexico. Less rain in the spring makes for lighter purer harvests of mesquite.  Cat's Claw acacia has flowers in yellow, cylindrical spikes. The flowers and leaves of this plant resemble mesquite, but cats claw thorns are like rose thorns, broad at the base and curved backward while mesquite thorns are straight. The seed pods of the Cat's Claw split upon maturing. Mesquite pods do not.

Cats Claw/Mesquite is an Acacia honey of the Southwest with a mild flavor and buttery consistency that greets the senses gently and is wonderful on toast or in tea.

 

 Mesquite Honey

(Plant origin, New Mexico/Arizona)

In the lower Rio Grande Plain it is a large tree attaining a height of 40 feet and a diameter of 2 feet; but on the dryer soil south and southwest of San Antonio their is a vast mesquite forest consisting of trees 10-15 feet tall. On arid land the mesquite becomes a straggling shrub with crooked branches. We find them in abundance up and down the Rio Grande Valley & in the Sonoran Desert lands.

 

 Carrot Honey

(Plant origin, Oregon)

Another new honey this year from beekeepers in Oregon.  A very earthy tone that has quite a bite to it...we consider this a dark & sweet combination that has a very unique, complexity to it. Carrot crops are perennial and seeds are saved in the second year. YES, carrots do have flowers if allowed to bloom.

One might think this honey would be rich in beta-carotenes and minerals coming from a root vegetable. Very rare and quite different of all the honeys we have had. Might be good for your peepers too!

Desert Wildflower Honey

(Plant origin, New Mexico & Sonoran Desert)

Our dark, rich, robust desert honey is unbeatable to those with a taste for strong honeys.

The natural blend of wildflowers ranges from tamarisk, salt cedar & mesquite tree blossoms to cactus flowers. The predominant nectar is tamarisk and has a pungent after-taste.  It's great in coffee & black tea and wonderful drizzled over corn bread with butter. The bees are foraging on pesticide-free desert flowers.  Still one of our BEST SELLING honeys of the Southwest. Many people claim this is the honey that they remember from childhood.

 

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Desert Willow

Sage/Willow

(Plant origin, New Mexico)

One of our lightest, most mild desert honeys the Sage/Willow variety is usually harvested in the fall months in limited extractions. The arroyos are full of desert willow trees and the hills are covered with sage. This is a favorite of local New Mexicans who were fond of the Desert Marigold, also a mild desert honey that has been in very limited production for the last few years. Light enough for green teas and herbals, there is little to no after-taste with Sage honey.  Excellent for anyone living in desert regions suffering from allergies.
White Sage 
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Eucalyptus Honey

(Plant origin, California)

A deep to medium dark honey variety from the ubiquitous Eucalyptus trees on the west coast. This is a unique variety and has a strong medicinal use for chest colds and infections. Those with asthma may find this honey soothing. 

  

 

Meadowfoam Honey

(Plant origin, Oregon)

Meadow foam is grown for its seed oil which is used in the cosmetic industry. It is a rare find in a honey crop in the United States. This delicate honey from Oregon is very light and sweet, some say it tastes like marshmallows. It is one of our desert honeys. Amazing drizzled on plain yogurt with fresh fruit.

Melon Honey

(Plant origin, California)

A new summer honey from the west coast with a sweet yet mild flavor. Bees are working on fields of cantaloupe crops making this tasty treat. Blooms from the melon plants become the fruit itself. This is a sun loving crop with nectar that is sweet as sugar.

 

Mountain Wildflower
(Plant origin, New Mexico)

Mountain wildflower honey is a natural blend of wildflowers from the mountain regions of Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado. It is a light floral honey with a sweet flavor. During the best seasons this honey is predominantly mountain clover.  Mountain wildflower is produced at 8,000 ft and is a delicate, mild honey that turns  anything into a treat. Our spring harvest is the palest yellow and very clear.

 Mountain fall harvests yield a floral nectar that produce a rich, golden honey with more Snowberry nectar. This honey crystallizes with very fine grains into an almost whipped butter honey. Yummy spread over toast with your favorite nut butter! Some of our honey comb this year is Snowberry.

Orange Blossom Honey

(Plant origin, California/Arizona)

This is light and crisp with a deep citrus flavor. Orange trees generally range in height at maturity from 22 to 30 feet. Leaves are dark green, pointed with a round base and from 3 to 5 inches in length. The blossoms are a delicate white.

Orange blossom are native to the west coast and southwest, offering an exquisite flora bouquet of flavor that is excellent in plain yogurt or any tea.

Mountain Gamble Oak Honey

(Plant origin, New Mexico/Colorado)

This is not a true flower nectar honey. It is a honey dew honey. It is a by- product of aphid infestations on gamble oak groves in Northern New Mexico. During times of extreme drought the bees have no choice but to collect it. Its woody flavor is like no other honey and it is slower to crystallize than most floral honeys. This is a rare honey, happening every 6-10 years.

 

 Strawberry/Raspberry Honey

(Plant origin, California)

Raspberry honey is a very sweet, highly acidic honey from California. It makes a wonderful syrup substitute with a slightly fruity finish. Super good on pancakes & waffles!

Strawberry / Raspberry of the South Valley in California is a sweet and fruity blend with a robust finish.  A favorite of both young and old, this classic berry honey is a delight to add to your honey collection. The bees tend to work harder on the raspberry plants making this a rich, reddish color. Much less sweet than the Wild Blackberry variety.

 Wild Blackberry Honey

(Plant origin, Washington)

Wild crafted blackberry honey from Washington State has a more distinct berry taste and fruitier flavor than our strawberry/raspberry honey. This is a very sweet honey! One of our dessert varieties best to be used sparingly. Wild Blackberry plants grow in huge abundance in the pacific northwest, making this a common honey for folks from that region. For the rest of us desert dwellers, this berry honey is a real treat. Imagine walking streets lined with blackberry plants, picking and eating as you go.

 

Star Thistle Honey

(Plant origin, California)

A rich, buttery honey that is on the darker side. This wild crafted honey from northern California comes from a noxious weed that many people love to hate. An old fashioned honey flavor with a smoother finish than the dark, Desert Wildflower. Introduced from southern Europe and the Mediterranean region in the mid-1800s, Star Thistle is a serious rangeland weed throughout the western United States. As invasive as this plant is, the honey is to die for! It definitely makes the top five best on the Bee Chama Honey line-up. We have a very limited supply and only pack it in 1/2 pint jars.