bee tree

American  

noun

1. a hollow tree used by wild bees as a hive, especially the basswood or American linden.

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Etymology

Origin of bee tree

An Americanism dating back to 1775–85

Example Sentences

By the bee tree In the floody place In the sandy pit In the house at Pooh corner Why does Winnie-the-Pooh not like heffalumps?

From The Guardian • Jan. 18, 2013

Articles on bee hunting, says he, have one thing in common: "They are written by men who never possibly could have found a bee tree, at least by pursuing the methods they describe."

From Time Magazine Archive

I know every root in these parts, every huckleberry meadow, bee tree, strand of swamp grass and skunk-cabbage patch.

From Time Magazine Archive

For dinner they all had as much of the delicious honey as they could eat, and Pa told them how he found the bee tree.

From "Little House in the Big Woods" by Laura Ingalls Wilder

She sweetened it with wild honey that Papa and I had cut out of a bee tree last fall, and added cream skimmed off last night’s milk.

From "Old Yeller" by Fred Gipson