Tallow Trees Crowd Out Native Trees Needed by Polinators

The tallow tree has a non-showy inflorescence, a two to eight inch long cluster of many small flowers. But the female flowers are prodigious nectar producers and European Honeybees and certain native bees flock to collect it. Migrant Bee keepers, those who move their hives to take advantage of areas with large numbers of flowering plants take bees to areas colonized by these invasive trees. Ben Powell, our state pollinator expert, says the downfall is that the tallow trees don’t allow for native vegetation that would bloom over long periods of time and provide nectar and pollen earlier when the bees need to beef up their colonies as spring arrives. He likened it to your investment portfolio – diversity is always a safer route to take. If we can limit tallow dominated acreage, pollinators can have a more balanced smorgasbord.