. British bee journal & bee-keepers adviser. Bees. 362 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Sept. 11, 1913. 1. Ill Honey NECTAR-PRODUCING PLANTS AND THEIR POLLEN. By Geo. Hayes, Beeston, Notts. FURZE, GORSE, OR WHIN (Ulex euTOpCBUs). No. 25. NAT. ORD. LcguminoscE. No one who is at all familiar with our waste lands and commons can be ignorant of this plant. Its rich wealth of golden blossoms stretching over many acres, or bordering wide main roads and country lanes, the sweet fragrance of its flowers and the extent of its flowering season are all points which arrest the atten- tion even of those who a
. British bee journal & bee-keepers adviser. Bees. 362 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Sept. 11, 1913. 1. Ill Honey NECTAR-PRODUCING PLANTS AND THEIR POLLEN. By Geo. Hayes, Beeston, Notts. FURZE, GORSE, OR WHIN (Ulex euTOpCBUs). No. 25. NAT. ORD. LcguminoscE. No one who is at all familiar with our waste lands and commons can be ignorant of this plant. Its rich wealth of golden blossoms stretching over many acres, or bordering wide main roads and country lanes, the sweet fragrance of its flowers and the extent of its flowering season are all points which arrest the atten- tion even of those who are indifferent t o flowers. Early in the month of February we may find it here and there in blossom, "a token to the w i n t r y earth that b e a u t y liveth still," and as the spring advances the dark masses of foliage become laden with its brilliant blos- soms. Persons seeing it attempt to pull its branches to re- gale themselves with the de- licious perfume of its flowers, but they soon find its prickly stems are ample p r o t e c t i o n against such in- trusion. '' For what more noble than the vernal Fvirze, W i t h golden baskets hung? Approach it not, For every blossom has a, troop of swords Drawn to defend ; Some say that Furze is sometimes spelt " Furres " ; probably it is the bright yellow flowers which seem so " flame like " in their brilliancy that suggest this name of fire or furze bush. Its generic title— Ulex—implies that it is a plant of the wastes, and its specific name that it is indigenous to Europe. The branches of this plant are spreading and grow very thickly. The spines are strengthened with many ridges. The From Honey: POLLEN OF GORSE, FURZE, OR WHIN calyx is shaggy, and the wings of its pea- blossom flower are longer than the keel. As the spring passes into summer, and the countless blossoms which each brings fades away, the furze still holds its own, and justifies a very common saying, viz., " that when F
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