Melliferous plants for Cameroon Highlands and Adamaoua Plateau honey
April 2011
i
Melliferous plants for Cameroon Highlands and Adamaoua Plateau honey
April 2011
i
A melliferous flower is a plant which produces substances that can be collected by insects and turned into honey. Many plants are melliferous, but only certain plants have pollen
and nectar that can be harvested by honey bees (Apis mellifera adansonii in Cameroon). This is because of the bee’s physiognomy (their body size and shape, length of proboscis,
etc.) A plant is classified as melliferous if it can be harvested by domesticated honey bees. This is a symbiotic relationship (both organisms benefit), with bees collecting nectar, and
pollen for food, and useful plant substances to make propolis to fill gaps in the hive. Plants benefit from the transfer of pollen, which assures fertilization.
The tables of 1. Native & Forest
Plants
,
Melliferous plants for Cameroon Highlands and Adamaoua Plateau honey
April 2011
i
2. Exotic, Agroforestry &
Crop Trees
and 3. Bee hating
trees
list many of the known melliferous plants in the Cameroon Highlands and Adamaoua Plateau. This is the mountain
range stretching from Mt Oku in the Northwest, through the Lebialem Highlands and Dschang , to Mt Kupe and Muanengouba and to Mt Cameroon in the Southwest. The
information presented covers the flowering period, the resources harvested by bees (Nectar, pollen, propolis, and honeydew). It is worth noting that each plant does not produce
the same quantity or quality of these resources, and even among species production varies due to location, altitude, plant health and climate. Digital copies of presentations with
photos of some of the plants can be obtained from CIFOR v.ingram@cgiar.org , SNV, WHINCONET (whinconet@yahoo.com), ANCO (tahkenny@yahoo.com) or ERUDEF
erudef@yahoo.com or achahrobin@yahoo.com
This data was collected from 2007 to 2010 based on interviews with beekeepers in the Northwest and Southwest, observations, information obtained from botanists in Cameroon
and internationally, observations and a review of literature. It was conducted with support from SNV and CIFOR as part of the GCP/RAF/408/EC Project Mobilisation et
Renforcement des Capacités des Petites et Moyennes Entreprises Impliquées dans les Filières Des Produits Forestiers Non Ligneux En Afrique Centrale, lead by the FAO, and support
from the CIFOR Congo Basin Forests and Climate Change Adaptation (COFCAA) Project, and Guiding Hope and SNV as part of the OAPI Project to develop a Geographical Indication
for Oku White Honey. Many thanks to all those interviewed, and especially to Kenneth Tah, Jaff Francis, Robiin Achah, Stéphanie Tangkeu, Ousseynou Ndoye, Fernand-Nestor
Tchuenguem Fohouo and Ebenezer Asaah for providing support, data and photos
.
Verina Ingram
Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)
www.cifor.cgiar.org
Adamaoua
Melliferous plants for Cameroon Highlands and Adamaoua Plateau honey