Palynological analysis of honeys from Palencia Province (Spain)

A pollen analysis of 49 honey samples from Palencia province has been carried out. According to the pollen spectra found, most of them are multifloral (27); 22 samples were monofloral. The monofloral honeys were Erica type followed by Centaurea, Reseda, Onobrychis, Rubus, Cytisus and Hederá. 126 different pollen types were recorded, belonging to 41 families. 53 of them reached percentages over 3% in some samples. The other 73 types did not reach percentages over 3% in any of the 49 samples. The families present in the highest number of samples were: Fabciceae, Asteraceae, Cistaceae and Rosaceae the families that had the highest percentages were: Fabaceae, Asteraceae, Ericaceae and Rosaceae. The pollen types that appeared in the most samples were: Papaver rhoeas (39 samples) and Rubus ulmifolius (38); the pollen types that reached the highest abundance percentages were: Erica arbórea, Onobiychis viciifolia and Reseda luteola. The pollen types of Ericaceae and Lavandula latifolia can be used as indicators in order to know the zone of origin zone of honeys produced in Palencia, and it allows us to detect any possible commercial frauds concerning the origin of honeys