A tree containing honey.
1817. The hunters, who had found a bee tree, and were returning to the boat for a bucket, and a hatchet to cut it down.John Bradbury, Travels, p. 33.
1829. [They] marched off into the woods, to witness the cutting of a bee-tree, and to gather grapes and peccans.T. Flint, George Mason, p. 63 (Boston).
1829. The bee-tree, in falling, had broken off at the point where the swarm had formed their hive.Id., p. 66.
1834. We encamped early, and cut a bee tree, obtaining a good quantity of honey to eat with our bear meat.Albert Pike, Sketches, &c., p. 76 (Boston).
1835. Our practice was to find the bee-trees, at our leisure, during the summer, and mark them with a tomahawk.James Hall, Tales of the Border, p. 83 (Phila.).
1835. The bears is the knowingest varmint for finding out a bee-tree in the world.W. Irving, Crayon Miscellany, ix.