Melliferous plants of Bulgarian dendroflora

The paper offers characterisation of the melliferous plants of the Bulgarian dendroflora. Out of the 433 species belonging to 148 genera and 60 families of arboreal plants found on the Bulgarian territory, 307 (70.9%) belonging to 96 genera (64.9%) and 39 families (65.0%) are considered honey-bearing plants. Pinophyta is represented by four species and Magnoliophyta by 303 species. Most melliferous plants belong to the family Rosaceae: 118 species. According to their biological type, shrubs are represented by 175 species, trees by 58 species, and shrubs or trees by 29 species. The distribution of species is presented by floristic regions and subregions of Bulgaria. It indicates that 81 species can be found in all floristic regions, and 43 species occur in one floristic region only. Most melliferous arboreal plants fall into the floristic regions of the Balkan Range (226 species) and Rhodope Mts (206 species). Most species (241) are distributed within the altitudinal range of 500–1000 m a.s.l. Most blooming melliferous species of Bulgarian dendroflora flower in June (201). It is significant for the conservation importance of these plants at national and international level. A full list of the melliferous plants of the Bulgarian dendroflora is presented.