Cashew family plants for bees
Mango, cashew and Brazilian pepper — tropical crop trees where the honey is a by-product of a pollination contract.
Why this family matters
These are commercially significant fruit and nut trees whose yields depend substantially on insect pollination, and honey bees are moved into mango and cashew plantations for exactly that reason. The honeys are regional and rarely exported: mango blossom honey is dark and faintly resinous, cashew honey lighter. Brazilian pepper is the family's problem member — an aggressive invasive across Florida, Hawaii and elsewhere that nonetheless supports a substantial honey crop, which is a genuinely uncomfortable pairing of facts.
When it flowers
Tropical and dry-season. Mango January to April, cashew November to February, Brazilian pepper September to November. None of these map onto a temperate calendar.
Which bees it serves
Mango flowers are small and numerous and are worked by honey bees, stingless bees and flies; fly pollination is significant enough that growers sometimes encourage it deliberately. Cashew depends heavily on bees for nut set.
Worth knowing before you plant it
Brazilian pepper is illegal to plant in several US states and is a serious ecological problem in its introduced range. Its value as a honey plant is not a reason to plant it anywhere.
Cashew and mango family plants in the catalogue
- Brazilian pepperSchinus terebinthifoliaSeptember to November. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop
- CashewAnacardium occidentaleNovember to February. Nectar high, pollen high.Major honey crop
- MangoMangifera indicaJanuary to April. Nectar high, pollen high.Major honey crop
- SumacRhus speciesJune to July. Nectar high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
What this group covers
10 of 12 months have something in flower. Nectar and pollen are counted separately and a month counts only where at least one plant offers that resource at moderate value or better — a plant in flower is not the same as a plant worth visiting.
| Month | In flower | Nectar | Pollen |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2 | Yes | Yes |
| February | 2 | Yes | Yes |
| March | 1 | Yes | Yes |
| April | 1 | Yes | Yes |
| May | nothing | No | No |
| June | 1 | Yes | Yes |
| July | 1 | Yes | Yes |
| August | nothing | No | No |
| September | 1 | Yes | Yes |
| October | 1 | Yes | Yes |
| November | 2 | Yes | Yes |
| December | 1 | Yes | Yes |
What this group does not cover
Nothing in flower: May, August. Planting only from this group would leave those months empty.
Check these against your region before planting
1 plant in this group carry an invasiveness or legal restriction note somewhere in the world: Brazilian pepper. HoneyHQ does not know where you are and will not guess, so it flags rather than filters.
Bees these plants are recorded with
Taken from the relationships on each plant record. These are the well-attested associations rather than an exhaustive list of visitors, so treat the number as a floor.
Honeys from these plants
- Brazilian pepper honeyWarm and peppery with a distinct resinous spice and a faint tartness — genuinely reminiscent of the pink peppercorns the plant produces.
- Cashew honeyTangy and resinous with a warm caramel base and a faintly astringent finish — assertive and quite unlike the mild nut it comes from.
- Mango blossom honeyWarm and fruity with a distinct tropical-stone-fruit note and a faint resinous edge — one of the honeys that does taste recognisably of its tree's fruit, though more faintly than people expect.
- Sumac honeyTart, dark and lightly resinous, with a sour-fruit edge unusual in an American honey and a definite tannic dryness.
Other families
- Daisy family
- Mint family
- Rose family
- Pea family
- Honeysuckle family
- Heather family
- Buttercup family
- Myrtle family
- Cabbage family
- Borage family
- Carrot family
- Mallow family
- Onion family
- Buckthorn family
- Maple and horse chestnut family
- Sapodilla family
- Plantain family
- Citrus family
- Protea family
- Primrose family
- Asparagus family
- Currant family
- Elder and viburnum family
- Pine family
- Palm family
- Ivy family
- Oak and chestnut family
- Leatherwood family
- Spurge family
Plan with these
- Flowering calendar
What should I plant so that something is always in flower for bees?
- Bee-friendly garden planner
What should I plant in the space I actually have?
- Plant recommendation tool
Which plant fills this specific gap?