Palm family plants for bees
Palms are easy to overlook because their flowers are neither showy nor scented, and several of them are among the most dependable nectar sources in the warm world.
Why this family matters
A palm inflorescence is a branched spray of many small flowers with completely exposed nectaries, and in most species it emerges from the leaf axils continuously rather than seasonally. That continuity is the family's defining contribution: a mature coconut produces a new flower spike roughly every month, which makes it a maintenance flow in landscapes where everything else arrives as a short intense event. Saw palmetto is the exception that proves the rule — a genuine short heavy flow, and one of Florida's most valuable honeys.
When it flowers
Effectively year-round for coconut and oil palm in the tropics, and seasonal for the temperate-margin members: saw palmetto in April to June and cabbage palm in June to August. The year-round windows on those records are literal rather than approximate.
Which bees it serves
Fully exposed nectaries mean nothing is excluded — stingless bees, dwarf honey bees, wasps and flies work palms alongside managed colonies. Oil palm is the important exception on pollination: its actual pollinator is a weevil, and bees take pollen from it without being needed for the fruit at all.
Worth knowing before you plant it
Coconut sugar, palm sugar and coconut nectar syrup all come from tapping the cut inflorescence and boiling the sap. They contain no honey and involve no bees, and the similarity of the names causes constant confusion at retail.
Palm family plants in the catalogue
- Saw palmettoSerenoa repensApril to June. Nectar very high, pollen high.Major honey crop
- Cabbage palmSabal palmettoJune to August. Nectar high, pollen high.Major honey crop
- Coconut palmCocos nuciferaJanuary to December. Nectar moderate, pollen high.Minor honey crop
- Oil palmElaeis guineensisJanuary to December. Nectar low, pollen very high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
What this group covers
12 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 | 2 | Yes | Yes |
| April | 3 | Yes | Yes |
| May | 3 | Yes | Yes |
| June | 4 | Yes | Yes |
| July | 3 | Yes | Yes |
| August | 3 | Yes | Yes |
| September | 2 | Yes | Yes |
| October | 2 | Yes | Yes |
| November | 2 | Yes | Yes |
| December | 2 | Yes | Yes |
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
- Saw palmetto honeySmoky and peppery with a warm resinous depth — an unusual and slightly savoury honey that divides opinion sharply.
- Cabbage palm honeyDark, smoky and savoury with a mineral saltiness and only moderate sweetness — an unusual and polarising honey.
- Coconut blossom honeyLight, clean and mildly waxy with a faint nuttiness. It tastes nothing like coconut, which surprises almost everyone.
- Oil palm honeyVariable by definition. Generally warm and mildly caramel-led, taking its character from whatever grew between and around the palms.
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
- Cashew and mango 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?