{"id":4505,"date":"2019-01-23T10:41:41","date_gmt":"2019-01-23T16:41:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.landuum.com\/?p=4505"},"modified":"2019-02-20T11:10:41","modified_gmt":"2019-02-20T17:10:41","slug":"melliferous-flowers-soul-of-the-honey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.landuum.com\/en\/plantae-and-fauna\/melliferous-flowers-soul-of-the-honey\/","title":{"rendered":"Melliferous flowers: soul of the honey"},"content":{"rendered":"

Honey, Garc\u00eda Lorca 1<\/sup> said, is \u201cthe soul of flowers condensed through another spirit\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This essence is nothing more than the expression of flowers that produce and provide juicy, scented and attractive nurture for approximately 16,000 bee species worlwide 2<\/sup>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Attributes such as color, size, shape, and smell, are intimately related to the attraction of bees that will fly from flower to flower transporting pollen and promoting the sexual reproduction of plants, therefore producing fruits and seeds.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Xtabent\u00fan
Turbina corymbosa (L.) Raf.
Photography: \u00a9Pedro Acevedo-Rodriguez<\/p><\/div>\n

The melliferous flowers, the ones that are visited by bees 2<\/sup>, are characterized for their yellow and blue predominant tonalities, these colors are capable of reflecting UV light through \u201csignaling\u201d called \u201cnectar guides\u201d, which are only visible for bees. <\/span><\/p>\n

Besides their distinctive sweet scents, they also have petals or structures that constitute \u201clanding surfaces\u201d and offer as reward nectar with a highly concentrated quantity of sugar, pollen, resins and oils <\/span>2<\/sup>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Tajonal
Viguiera dentata (Cav.) Spreng.
Photography: \u00a9Pedro Acevedo-Rodriguez<\/p><\/div>\n

Honey diversity across the world is quite magnificent, we can find honey that comes just from some citrus, lavender, strawberry or even eucalypt; each one of them with extraordinary flavor, color, and scent. <\/span><\/p>\n

In Mexico, the Yucatan Peninsula is clearly the national archetype that reflects the importance of these flowers, this area has the highest relevance for honey production due to its environmental and vegetation characteristics, it is the home of native flowers such as xtabent\u00fan (Turbina corymbosa), tajonal (Viguira dentata), ja\u00b4abin (Piscidia piscipula), ts\u00b4its\u00b4ilche (Gymnopodium floribundum), chakah (Bursera simaruba) and tzalam (Lysiloma bahamensis) 3,4,6<\/sup>, these species are the bee\u2019s favorites for producing honey in their hives.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Ts\u00b4its\u00b4ilche (Gymnopodium floribundum).
Photography: \u00a9Alfredo Dorantes Euan<\/p><\/div>\n

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\u201cIn Mexico, the Yucatan Peninsula is clearly the national archetype that reflects the importance of these flowers…\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Tzalam
Lysiloma bahamensis Benth.
Photography: \u00a9 Henry (Hank) Fabian<\/p><\/div>\n

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Ja\u00b4abin
Piscidia piscipula (L.) Sarg.
Photography: levypreserve.org<\/p><\/div>\n

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Chakah
Bursera simaruba (L.) Sarg.
Photography: J. Gonz\u00e1lez<\/p><\/div>\n

The visiting bee by excellence is Apis mellifera, nevertheless in our country there are native bees as the xunaan-cab (Melipona beecheii) and the pisilnek-mej (Scaptotrigona mexicana) 3<\/sup>, these species are part of Mexico\u2019s historic and cultural heritage because they have been cultivated in central and southern areas of Mexico since Prehispanic times in order to produce honey for traditional medicine, prepare ceremonial sacred beverages, and as a food source.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Apis mellifera. Derecha arriba
Photography: By Ivar Leidus – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,
https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=52737922<\/p><\/div>\n

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xunaan-cab (Melipona beecheii).
Photography: Septiembre 30, 2015\/por Jose Luis Casuso Bedia, http:\/\/www.meliponamaya.org\/la-fundacion-melipona-maya-tulum-yucatan-11\/<\/p><\/div>\n

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CONABIO, Corredor Biol\u00f3gico Mesoamericano M\u00e9xico Programa Recursos Biol\u00f3gicos Colectivos M\u00e9xico, 2008<\/p><\/div>\n

In our country, taking into account geographic regions, flower composition, hives location and time of the year, there are an immense variety of color tones, aromas, and flavors; we can find over 60 different kinds of honey, each one comes from different flower origins. <\/span><\/p>\n

We have the strong dark honey from vines and creeping plants (especially tajonal and xtabentun); multi-floral honeys from the jungle that are clear with intense flavor and aroma; even honeys that have a single flower origin and keep distinctive flower sensory characteristics, like the ts\u00b4its\u00b4ilche that has an intense aroma, amber tones and a lot of body; or the tajonal honey which has light amber color, soft flowery scent, and is very fluid 3,4<\/sup>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Bees are also breeded for medicinal proposes, for example, their venom is used as a pain relief therapy.<\/p><\/div>\n

The honey production depends on of the floral cycle of each region or locality. By example in the south of M\u00e9xico, the flowering begins in December with the xtabentun, later on, in January and February, it synchronizes with the flowering of tajonal, covering large regions of the peninsula in an impressive way. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Jacaranda tree in a median strip of Mexico City.
Photography: Adlai Molina<\/p><\/div>\n

Mexico is the 8th world honey producer with 62 thousand tons, and the 3rd world honey exporter with 42 thousand tons in 2015; Yucat\u00e1n, Campeche, and Chiapas are the main productive states 6<\/sup>, which locates Mexico on the center stage of apiculture. The main commercial destinations for this sweet product are Germany and United States.2<\/sup> <\/span><\/p>\n

Strategic actions such as promoting development and proliferation of the native flora of your particular region, or planting green areas with melliferous flowers like blue sky flowers (Thunbergia grandiflora), geraniums (Pelargonium), marigolds (Calendula officinalis), sunflowers (Helianthus annuus), or even preferring honey produced in Mexico, are great choices to maintain the bee population and rejoice with the sweetness of honey and the juicy fruits of the plants they pollinate, both result of their extraordinary endeavor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The pollen covers the bee\u2019s body while it drinks the flower\u2019s nectar.<\/p><\/div>\n

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        REFERENCES<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        1<\/sup>    Garc\u00eda Lorca, El canto de la miel<\/em>, 1908.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        2<\/sup>    Judith M\u00e1rquez Guzm\u00e1n y Margarita Collado Ortega, Biolog\u00eda de Angiospermas<\/em>, (M\u00e9xico: Universidad Nacional Aut\u00f3noma de M\u00e9xico, 2013). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        3<\/sup>    Rita Guadalupe Alfaro Bates et al., Caracterizaci\u00f3n palinol\u00f3gica de las mieles de la Pen\u00ednsula de Yucat\u00e1n.<\/em> (M\u00e9rida, Yucat\u00e1n: Universidad Aut\u00f3noma de Yucat\u00e1n. Comisi\u00f3n Nacional para el uso de la Biodiversidad, 2010). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        4<\/sup>    Comisi\u00f3n Nacional para el uso de la Biodiversidad, Mieles peninsulares y diversidad<\/em>, 2008.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        5<\/sup>    Ka\u0161konien\u0117 y Venskutonis, \u201cFloral markers in honey of various botanical and geographic origins: a review\u201d Volume 9, Issue 6, Comprehensive reviews in food science and food safety<\/em>. (2010).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        6<\/sup>    Servicio de Informaci\u00f3n Agroalimentaria y Pesquera. Atlas Agroalimentario 2016,<\/em> (M\u00e9xico, 2016).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Honey, Garc\u00eda Lorca 1 said, is \u201cthe soul of flowers condensed through another spirit\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":4476,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[100],"class_list":["post-4505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-plantae-and-fauna","tag-ed-04-productive-landscape","post_format-post-format-image"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t