photo #6779391

The Mad Honey When bees feed on the pollen of rhododendron flowers, the resulting honey can pack a hallucinogenic punch. Rhododendron luteum and Rhododendron ponticum, contain grayanotoxin, which can cause dramatic reactions ranging from hallucinations and a slower heartbeat to temporary paralysis and unconsciousness.One of the earliest accounts of mad honey, which comes from Xenophon of Athens, a student of Socrates, describes a company of Greek soldiers in 401 B.C. passing through Asia Minor (specifically today's Black Sea region inTurkey). After eating honey stolen from beehives along the route, they vomited, had diarrhea, became disoriented and could no longer stand. In 69 B.C., it was recorded that Pompey the Great’s army fell victim to a literal honeytrap set by King Mithridates in the same region of Asia Minor. Local forces placed honey along the marching route, and then swooped in to massacre the intoxicated soldiers.