Round-headed leek
A wild onion with maroon globular heads flowering in midsummer on dry grassland and rocky ground; rich in nectar for bees.
- Nectar
- Good
- Pollen
- Medium
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Height
- 0,3-0,9 m
- Life cycle
- Perennial
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Round-headed leek forms dense, egg-shaped flower heads on slender stems, green at first and turning burgundy-purple as they open. Each small flower gives nectar; because the heads stay open for a long time they are heavily visited by honey bees, bumblebees and butterflies. The pollen contribution is moderate.
Flowering
It flowers from June to August, in the hot period when most meadow flowers have dried up. It likes calcareous, dry, sunny slopes, dunes and stony ground.
Honey and pollen
No single-flower honey is produced; it contributes to dry-grassland honeys. No reliable record of the pollen colour was found.
Note for the beekeeper
It multiplies easily from bulbs and is drought-tolerant, which makes it a suitable ornamental for plantings around the apiary aimed at the summer dearth. In grazed areas it is known to give milk an onion taint.