Caper
A spiny shrub of hot, dry, stony places; its large flowers open at dusk and last until next noon, feeding bees with nectar and pollen in summer drought.
- Nectar
- Good
- Pollen
- Good
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Height
- 0,3-1 m
- Life cycle
- Perennial
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Caper is a shrub that grows from the Mediterranean coast to south-eastern Anatolia at the foot of walls, on rocks and at field edges, and with its deep roots is very drought-tolerant. Its large, white to pinkish flowers open in the late afternoon and wilt towards noon the next day. The long purple stamens give plenty of pollen; nectar collects at the base of the flower. Besides moths and carpenter bees, honey bees also visit heavily in the first hours of the morning.
Flowering
It flowers continuously from May to September, even in the hottest months, a rare trait in regions dominated by summer drought.
Honey and pollen
Single-flower honey is not common; it contributes to summer honeys in hot regions. No reliable record of the pollen colour was found.
Note for the beekeeper
When the buds are picked as capers, the number of flowers falls. In dry areas it is worth protecting around the apiary to ease the summer dearth.