Here's one for you. These folks analyzed spring honey in Ohio and concluded that it's mainly willow. I never heard such a thing. But on the other hand, in twenty+ years of getting spring honey in NYS, I never could figure out where it comes from. The taste is uniformly bland, and there are a lot of candidates: Invasive honeysuckle, fruit trees, crataegus, etc. But willow? I wonder if anyone has had what they know to be willow honey and what does it taste like?

> A total of 36 samples were collected from 36 apiaries in Ohio in 2019, with an average of 3 plant genera detected per sample. We found similarity in honey samples collected from all apiaries, regardless of the proportion of agricultural land within a 2-km foraging range, with substantial amounts of honey stored from spring trees, including Salix (willow) and Prunus (cherry). — Harper McMinn‑Sauder, et al (2023) The major role of spring trees in Ohio honey production for bees located in high and low agricultural intensity

Meanwhile, going back a few years:

Willows blossom a little in advance of the hard maple, and hold out as long as they do. I have been led to think that perhaps those reporting honey from maple might be mistaken, and that the honey really came from the willows.  From the few trees along a small creek near here, my bees frequently make a gain of from six to ten pounds of honey while the willows are in bloom, and one season they made a gain of 15 pounds. This present spring some of my best colonies gained 8 pounds, while on apple-bloom they did not get more than a living, with apple-orchards white with bloom all about. The honey from the willow is quite similar to that from the apple-bloom, and of a nice aromatic flavor.—  G. M. DOOLITTLE. Borodino, N. Y., May 30, 1889. Gleanings in Bee Culture, Volume 17

note:  Borodino is about 35 miles north of where I live.

PLB

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