Toxic honey

Tagcon · March 05, 2011, 08:51:27 PM

Hi all, I asked this in another form earlier today and I will ask it here. I read on Missouri Conservation Department site that honey that the bees produce from black locust trees is Toxic for humans, not fit for human consumtion anybody heard anything about this I know here in MO. a lot of beekeepers set their hives near black locust for the light flavored honey so I don't know if MCD is wrong or we are harvesting toxic honey

AllenF · March 05, 2011, 09:07:43 PM

Can you post the sight showing that? The honey is great and they can make a lot of honey from Black locust.

Although the bark and leaves are toxic, various reports suggest that the seeds and the young pods of the black locust can be edible when cooked, since the poisons that are contained in this plant are decomposed by heat. Important constituents of the plant are the toxalbumin robin, which loses its toxicity when heated and robinin, a non-toxic glucoside,[10] Horses that consume the plant show signs of anorexia, depression, incontinence, colic, weakness, and cardiac arrhythmia. Symptoms usually occur about 1 hour following consumption, and immediate veterinary attention is required. from wiki

sc-bee · March 05, 2011, 09:11:56 PM

Never heard that about Black Locust Honey -- but I know little about Black Locust. With that said: ABC & XYZ of Bee Culture page 405- Black Locust is one of the finest honey trees. .... Black Locust honey is very light in color, mild in flavor, and very sweet.

Rhododendron honey yes is toxic. It is often referred to here as mother-in-law honey :-D

sc-bee · March 05, 2011, 09:13:41 PM

I type too slow compared to Allen :-D

AllenF · March 05, 2011, 09:17:58 PM

Copy and paste. Copy and paste.

iddee · March 05, 2011, 09:31:07 PM

Poison Ivy is toxic, too, but the honey from it isn't. In fact, it is one of the finest, lightest honey the bees will ever make. There has never been a recorded case of anyone getting a poison ivy outbreak from the honey made from it.

I would think black locust would be the same.

Tagcon · March 05, 2011, 09:36:48 PM

The forum rules won't let me post urls yet but it is the mdc web site you can google it. that is missouri department of conservation it will be under field-guide portion of the site, I have sent them a E-mail to double check themselves on this because it is very popular tree for beekeepers in MO. too. it should be in the trees, shrubs and woody vines look up black locust tree

AllenF · March 05, 2011, 10:14:10 PM

http://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/nuisance-species/nuisance-species-field-guide

?????????????? They may want to check this.

jmblakeney · March 06, 2011, 01:14:46 AM

Quote from: iddee on March 05, 2011, 09:31:07 PM
Poison Ivy is toxic, too, but the honey from it isn't. In fact, it is one of the finest, lightest honey the bees will ever make. There has never been a recorded case of anyone getting a poison ivy outbreak from the honey made from it.

I would think black locust would be the same.

I didn't realize poison ivy produced nectar. If this is the case and one eat this (poison ivy) honey often could that person then possibly loose their allergic reaction received by touching or rubbing the ivy leaves? Perhaps in the same way that people eat local honey to reduce their allergic reaction to local pollen.

I know thats off topic, and if it needs to be put in another post please let me know and I will.
Thanks,
James

phil c · March 06, 2011, 06:31:04 AM

my hive work alot of poison ivy, the timber around me is full of it and theres enough in the pasture around the hives that I really wish I could spray.
I think someone should contact the Missouri people about their locust error.

buzzbee · March 06, 2011, 08:22:30 AM

If any one has black locust honey dispose of,PM and I'll give my shipping address!!! :-D

Bee-Bop · March 06, 2011, 10:57:51 AM

Sure are a lot of Black Locust here in the Missouri Ozarks, not as many as Oak trees but still a lot.

I don't know of any one who has had any problems !

Bee-Bop

Bee Happy · March 06, 2011, 11:19:28 AM

Taxpayer funded competence at its best?

Keskin · March 06, 2011, 04:51:22 PM

Rhododendron honey is toxic...
Right but not completely.
In the northern region of Turkey, we are specially producing this honey.
Only yellow flowered rhododendron contains toxic nectar.
It calls as "crazy honey" and it is using very very small quantity -less than 2ml/daily- for traditional medicines.
From 2008, some US and Turkish universities surveying this honey and traditional medicines.
Please be careful, do not try without any clear information.
Your blood pressure can increase or decrease suddenly. Could be fatal...

edward · March 06, 2011, 10:00:55 PM

Didn't some Roman or Greek army lose a battle after eating honey from nectar from rhododendron flowers :-X

mvh edward :-P

Keskin · March 07, 2011, 01:52:34 AM

True...
It was overdose!
If someone eat it with buttered toast, could die.
Because, buttered toast "contains" overdose.
Medical usage is controlled usage.

Tommyt · March 07, 2011, 07:39:29 AM

Rhododendron (from Ancient Greek rhódon "rose", and déndron "tree")[1][2] is a genus of over 1000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers. It includes the plants known to gardeners as azaleas :shock: :shock: :shock:.

The Rhododendron is a genus characterized by shrubs and small to (rarely) large trees, the smallest species growing to 10–100 cm tall, and the largest, R. giganteum, reported to over 30 m tall.[3] The leaves are spirally arranged; leaf size can range from 1–2 cm to over 50 cm, exceptionally 100 cm in R. sinogrande. They may be either evergreen or deciduous. In some species the underside of the leaves is covered with scales (lepidote) or hairs (indumentum). Some of the best known species are noted for their many clusters of large flowers. There are alpine species with small flowers and small leaves, and tropical species such as section Vireya that often grow as epiphytes. Species in this genus may be part of the heath complex in oak-heath forests in eastern North America
From Wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhododendron
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Florida is full of azaleas
Whats the deal with this ,is it a certain Strain of Rhododendron

Tommyt

VolunteerK9 · March 07, 2011, 02:35:52 PM

Quote from: iddee on March 05, 2011, 09:31:07 PM
Poison Ivy is toxic, too, but the honey from it isn't. In fact, it is one of the finest, lightest honey the bees will ever make. There has never been a recorded case of anyone getting a poison ivy outbreak from the honey made from it.

If I could only build an immunity to poison ivy/oak by eating the honey made from it....sigh

I can just look at that crap in the summer and get it all over me. Nice purple-bluish blisters everywhere.

Keskin · March 07, 2011, 06:14:55 PM

Some photos about rhododendrons that producing toxic honey.
http://www.ilahi-tr.org/bitkiler-alemi/35347-komar-cicegi-orman-gulu.html

Bee Happy · March 07, 2011, 07:36:50 PM

Yep, Tommy, I've never seen an azalea I didn't want to till under - even before I knew about the honey I didn't like how much maintenance is needed to keep them under control - and how much work they need if it's too late. (the limbs root if they touch the soil.) Where I am the Blackberrys bloom about the same time as the azaleas and I think the bees prefer them (& most of them around me are red)