The Melaleuca trees were brought to Florida in the early 1900's. All through the everglades you can find pockets of Melaleuca and the bees love the nectar from these trees. Melaleuca is a relative of the Manuka tree. Raw Manuka honey primarily comes from New Zealand but we have a close relative right here in the USA and we call it "The American Manuka." Melaleuca honey (Gelam, Cajeput honey) and Melaleuca oil are well studied.
 
Raw unpasteurized melaleuca honey is very good for us. Numerous medical studies have investigated its efficacy in wound healing and cancer fighting abilities. Researchers feel this is due to its powerful antioxidant compounds which lead to free radical scavenging. They identified 6 phenolic acids: gallic, syringic, benzoic, trans-cinnamic, p-coumaric, and caffeic acids & 5 flavonoids: catechin, kaempferol, naringenin, luteolin, and apigenin.
 
Chunk honey is a delicate piece of comb in a jar that is filled with liquid honey. When presented in this manor, many think it is one of the most attractive. There is little point in beekeepers producing it for themselves, because they are likely to have both comb and liquid honey anyway.
​
And yes, the comb is totally safe to eat. People have been keeping bees — and eating the honeycomb — for several thousand years.
​
Honeycomb is worth seeking out. Kids love it. It looks cool. It tastes great. And you get to amaze the little ones with facts such as the distance a bee would fly to produce just one pound of honey (three times around the Earth).
 
Color: Rich amber
Flavor: It is more comparable to a maple syrup and is great on oatmeal
Taste: Melaleuca has the taste of a medicinal honey. It is very strong and odiferous.
Crystallization: Slow