DIVERSITY OF HONEY PRODUCING PLANTS OF SOUTHERN NIGERIA

Abstract

Honey is a natural product that acts directly on our biological systems in a significant number of ways. Amongst the many health benefits of honey are its antioxidant, antifungal, anticancer and bacteriostatic properties to its free fat and cholesterol values.Today, the density and availability of these plant species which honey bees forage for nectar are threatened by the vicious impart ofclimate change, environmental degradation and over exploitationbyman for his livelihood options. Systematic identification and documentation of these species is the basic prerequisite for their conservation and sustainability. The major aim of this work was to evaluate palynologically after acetolysis the pollen spectrum of five honey samples from three zones in Southern Nigeria. The results showed diversity of fifty-sixty (56) honey plants belonging to twenty one (21) plant families distributed within 53 genera comprising of 19 dicots and 2 monots. Three predominant families were frequently encountered, these were Fabaceae, Euphorbiaceae and Anacardiaceae contributing a total of 1672.74 plants pollen with 983.45 (58.79%), 372.9 (22.29%) and 316.3 (18.9%), respectively. Fabaceae contributed the highest honey plant of(9) species Senna hirsuta L, Danialla oliveri (Rolfe) Hutch & Dalz. Brachystegia ewycoma Harms, Senna occidentale L. Link, Isoberlinia dokas Craib & Stapf, Erythrina senegalensis D.C., Albizia zygia (DC.) Macbr, Tephrosia bracteolate Guill. & Perr, Tephrosia purpurea L., Parkia biglobosa (Jacq) R. ex Don-H.C., Entada abyssinica Steud. ex A. Rich., Crotolaria retusa L. and Dialium guineense Willd. Predominant honey plants were Anacardium occidentale L, Ageratum conyzoides L, D.oliveri, Alchornea cordifolia Muell, Arg, Trichilia spp and Elaeis guineensis Jacq. with 31.14, 32.48, 39.9, 58.74, 35.26 and 60.92 %, respectively. The result equally reflected the habit and conservation status of these predominant honey plants. Apart from A. occidentalis and E. guineensis which are cultivated, others are found in the wild and are vulnerable to climate variability and change (threatened). Poor pollen spectrum recorded in some samples could be a reflection of loss of bioresources attributed to high level of anthropogenic activities. It is therefore, recommended that policy makers and indeed beekeepers in these zones as a matter ofurgency should embark on extensive propagation, afforestation, and conservation of these predominant honey plants within their apiaries to improve food security, income generation for fanner's and as carbon repossession in the ecosystem.