Palynological characterisation of palm honey (Sabal yapa) produced in Yucatan (Mexico)

The palm honey (Sabal yapa C. Wright ex Becc.) (Sabal honey henceforth) is one of 22 unifloral honeys recognised in the Yucatan Peninsula. This honey is harvested in February and March when Sabal yapa bloom but encompasses other important melliferous plants during the harvest season. A melissopalynological study of 24 honey samples from Tizimín, Yucatan (Mexico) was used to determine if Sabal honey is monofloral or multifloral, and to investigate the pollen contribution of other plants. Consequently, we determined the plant resources foraged by Apis mellifera. After analysis, 54 different pollen types were identified with the number of pollen types per honey sample ranging between nine and 21, with a mean of 14.75. Asteraceae and Fabaceae were the most diverse families and represented the highest percentage of contribution in pollen spectra. Sabal yapa pollen had a mean content of 56.9% (with a range of 45.4% to 84%). Bursera simaruba, Haematoxylum campechianum, Piscidia piscipula and Viguiera dentata were categorised as secondary pollen. Important minor pollen corresponded to Caesalpinia gaumeri, Ceiba pentandra, Pisonia aculeata, Thouinia paucidentata, and Trixis inula. Pollen composition revealed details of not only the rich native flora that accompanies Sabal yapa, but traditional human activities that occur around the apiaries. As expected, pollen of nectariferous species predominate in the samples, but also a number of nectarless species were found. Honeybees foraged mostly in trees present in remnants of primary vegetation, or at its different succession stages. Sabal honey could be labelled as monofloral.萨巴尔棕榈蜂蜜（Sabal yapa C. Wright ex Becc.，以下简称萨巴尔蜂蜜）是尤卡坦半岛公认的22种单花蜂蜜之一。该蜂蜜于每年2月与3月萨巴尔棕榈开花时采收，但采收季内也会涵盖其他重要蜜源植物。研究人员对墨西哥尤卡坦州蒂齐明地区的24份蜂蜜样本开展了蜜孢粉学研究，以判定萨巴尔蜂蜜属于单花蜂蜜还是多花蜂蜜，并探究其他植物的花粉贡献，进而明确西方蜜蜂（Apis mellifera）所采集的植物资源。经分析，共鉴定出54种不同的花粉类型，每份蜂蜜样本的花粉类型数量介于9至21种之间，平均值为14.75种。菊科（Asteraceae）与豆科（Fabaceae）是物种多样性最高的植物类群，在花粉谱中占比最高。萨巴尔棕榈的花粉平均占比为56.9%（区间为45.4%至84%）。裂榄（Bursera simaruba）、洋苏木（Haematoxylum campechianum）、牙买加山蚂蝗（Piscidia piscipula）与狭叶维吉尼亚菊（Viguiera dentata）被归类为次要花粉源。重要的微量花粉来源包括盖默氏云实（Caesalpinia gaumeri）、吉贝木棉（Ceiba pentandra）、刺腺茉莉（Pisonia aculeata）、少齿无忧花（Thouinia paucidentata）以及堆心菊（Trixis inula）。花粉组成不仅揭示了伴随萨巴尔棕榈生长的丰富本土植物区系，还反映了蜂场周边的传统人类活动。正如预期，样本中以产蜜植物的花粉为主，但同时也检出了多种无蜜腺物种。西方蜜蜂的采集活动主要集中在原生植被残余地及其不同演替阶段的树木中。综上，萨巴尔蜂蜜可被归类为单花蜂蜜。