This is from New Zealand but you may have some of the same plants:
"POISONOUS HONEY.
"That there are two plants in New Zealand which yield poisonous honey does not admit of doubt to those who have carefully studied the matter. New Zealand, however, is not singular in this respect, for such plants are found in most countries, chiefly among the heathworts (wild azaleas and rhododendrons), and laurels. My first knowledge that there were native plants yielding such honey came from Maoris at the Thames, in 1878. They not only gave me the native names of the two plants they knew of, but described very accurately the symptoms and effect on human beings of honey poisoning; and also gave me to understand that such honey if allowed to remain exposed for six weeks after it is gathered, can be eaten in safety, to all of which I have since had proof of correctness.
"During my 42 years of beekeeping in New Zealand I have only known of four clear cases of honey poisoning; that is, where the poisoning could be distinctly traced to honey eaten by the sufferers, so that the risk is not very great. The danger lies in eating honey obtained from wild bee nests in the bush in the month of October, when the Wharangi (Brachyglottis repanda) is just going out of blossom, and again in March and April, when the Waoriki (Ranunculus rivularis) is in blossom ? the latter flourishes in swampy districts.
As the honey season proper, on which commercial bee-keepers rely, does not commence until about the beginning of December, and no honey is taken till the latter part of that month (more than three months after the Wharangi yields nectar) it follows that no honey from that source can reach the market. And again, the honey season of the commercial bee-keeper has ended before the Waoriki begins to blossom, so that there is absolutely no risk in purchasing honey of a known brand put on the market.
"I have always endeavoured to get at absolute facts in cases of alleged honey poisoning, in order to correct unreliable reports that get about. In two cases my inquiries led to an acknowledgement that the trouble was not caused by honey; in one of them I ate some of the so called poisonous honey without ill effects.
"One of the most severe cases I have known occurred in the Bay of Plenty, ten miles from Matata, in the autumn of 1889, when two young Maoris lost their lives. As I could not go personally to investigate the matter, my friend, the Rev. J. R. Madan, who was then stationed at Matata, undertook the work and furnished me with a full report, which I published in the "Australasian Bee Journal" for December, 1889. They were out pig-hunting (three young Maoris), when they came across a bee nest in an old tawhero tree, overhanging a deep ravine, and obtained some of the honey from it. According to the survivor, neither of them ate more than about half a pound of clean honey in the comb. About two hours afterward symptoms of poisoning set in, giddiness and vomiting, then delirium and cramps; they all made for a stream to drink water. (An old custom with Maoris when suddenly taken ill.) One was overcome on the way and fell unconscious, while the other two were found dead in the stream; they had apparently, from their bruised condition, fallen over the precipice leading to the stream. The one who fell on the way recovered consciousness early next morning, and made his way to a settlement near at hand, when searchers went forth and discovered the other two.
"The immediate cause of death was not honey poisoning, but exposure and drowning. Had they been overcome before reaching the precipice like their mate, they would likely have recovered.
"In another case I investigated personally, six Maoris were poisoned but all recovered. This latter occurred in October' (spring) and the former in autumn.
"During the past 42 years I have eaten large quantities of honey gathered in many districts without ill effects, so that the risk of injury from eating commercial honey is practically nil. "--Isaac Hoplkins, Fourty-Two Years of Bee-keeping in New Zealand.
Topic: "Australian honey could be making us sick" (Read 5510 times)