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Author Topic: camellia sinensis  (Read 3038 times)

Offline Biggles

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camellia sinensis
« on: January 29, 2020, 08:14:27 pm »
Hi All

Has anyone seen an assay on pollen from Camellia Sinensis, otherwise known as Tea tree (as in the beverage, not the scrub).

I would be interested in knowing the nutrition values of the component chemistry.

There isn't much info around the web.  Some suggestion is that the nectar can be toxic.

TIA

Mark

Offline Milo

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Re: camellia sinensis
« Reply #1 on: January 30, 2020, 08:59:17 am »
Parthenium Weed: Biology, Ecology and Management

Page 94: Nectar from a number of plant species contain alkaloids which are toxic to bees (Huang, 2010) ...and tea (camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze; Theaceae) is usually toxic to both adult bees and brood (Huang, 2010)...

Sorry can?t grab the reference from google books

And another camellia reportedly toxic to honeybees

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.3896/IBRA.1.51.3.09

And just do a general search for pollinators and nectar or pollen toxicity for some sleep-time reads

https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1365-2435.12761

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/nectar

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11101-019-09642-y

Offline Biggles

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Re: camellia sinensis
« Reply #2 on: January 30, 2020, 05:13:52 pm »
Thanks Milo  :happy:

Appreciate the reply.

Seems researchers have concentrated on the nectar side of things, rather than the pollen.

Have been feeding a package for some weeks now on camellia pollen.  They seem to be doing ok on it.  The drought conditions aren't making things easy even in the suburbs.

You're right about sleep-time reads LOL.  Some of the papers approach rocket science the way they are written.  (Should have studied harder at school).

Cheers

Mark

Offline William Bagwell

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Re: camellia sinensis
« Reply #3 on: February 02, 2020, 10:09:04 am »
Milo, thanks for the links! Had similar questions my self... One of the links
(last one I think) implies that caffeine in low doses improves learning and
memory in bees.

Biggles, are you in a tea growing region? Only have a few bushes here, one
large one and perhaps a dozen smaller ones. And some of them are not old
enough to bloom. Do not have my bees yet, neighbors bees were working them
all summer and fall. As well as wasps and two varieties of bumble bees. So,
apparently not toxic in small quantities though it might be different next
to acres of tea bushes.

Offline Biggles

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Re: camellia sinensis
« Reply #4 on: February 02, 2020, 05:26:39 pm »
Hi William
I'm in suburban Sydney (Northern Beaches).
A dry time here.  Spring had a reasonable clover flow, but since then minimal pollen and nectar.
Camellia pollen is available at a reasonable price & have been feeding for the last two months or so to assist with build-up.  The bees readily take it, probably in the absence of not much else.
I haven't noticed any adverse affect, so was wondering where the nutrition value stood compared to other pollens.  It might be a matter of making up quality with quantity.

I'm hanging my hat on an autumn flow, hopefully from melaleuca, or late eucalypt.

Regards

Mark

 

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