Is honey found in Arka trees?

[Dominik Wujastyk]

Dominic Goodall said:
> Should one assume that arka is correct and that it refers to the tree 
> (?Calotropis Gigantia (Linn) R.Br ex Ait.)?  Is honey never found in 
> such trees?  Do they grow in the plains and not in mountain regions?
> I think that there is an article about this, but I don't remember 
> the details. I should be grateful, if someone could offer 
> me some help. 

Arka can be Calotropis gigantea (Linn.) R. Br. or (rarely) Calotropis
procera R. Br.  The former is found "distributed throughout India,
especially in the south.  It is very common on roadsides and in waste
places in all plain districts.  Also distributed in Sri Lanka, China,
and Malaysia."

C. procera is more commonly given as the plant for the name alarka, but
there is confusion.  C. procera is "common in the drier parts of India,
[but] it is conspicuously absent in Kerala."

Details from Sivarajan and Balachandran, Ayurvedic Drugs and their Plant
Sources (New Delhi: Oxford & IBH, 1994).

Dominik W.