Multifloral Honey
Definition
Honey produced from diverse plant sources with no single taxon dominant. Also called polyfloral or wildflower honey. The pollen assemblage reflects the full diversity of local flora during the production season.
- Also called
- Polyfloral or wildflower honey
- Composition
- No single dominant plant taxon
- Pollen assemblage
- Reflects full local floral diversity
- Field
- Melissopalynology
Common questions
How does an analyst tell multifloral honey apart from monofloral honey?+
Melissopalynological counting of the pollen grains in the honey shows no single species exceeding the threshold that would classify it as monofloral, typically requiring one taxon to dominate around 45 percent or more of the grains counted.
What forensic use does the pollen profile of multifloral honey have?+
The mix of pollen types present can indicate the general geographic region and season a batch of honey was produced in, which is used to check labelling claims or trace adulteration and mislabelled origin.
Related terms
- Honey Reference Collection
- A set of pollen slides prepared from fresh flowers of honey-plant species, used for comparison when identifying pollen in honey samples. Differs...
- Indicator Plant
- A pollen type whose presence in a honey assemblage is highly diagnostic of a geographic origin because the plant only grows or...
- Melissopalynology
- The study of pollen in honey and bee products to determine botanical origin, geographic provenance, and product authenticity.
- Monofloral Honey
- Honey in which one plant species dominates the pollen assemblage (typically above 45% of the pollen sum), reflecting predominant bee foraging on...
- Pollen Count (Louveaux Method)
- A quantitative assessment of pollen grains per 10 grams of honey. Below 10,000 grains per 10g suggests adulteration by dilution. The method,...