Cuckooflower
A pale lilac spring flower of wet meadows; little nectar, but its early bloom gives a small boost to colonies near damp grassland.
- Nectar
- Medium
- Pollen
- Low
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Height
- 0.2-0.5 m
- Life cycle
- Perennial
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Cuckooflower is a perennial crucifer that forms wide lilac-white carpets in early spring in the wet meadows of northern and central Europe and along ditches and streams. Its flowers give little nectar and little pollen; honey bees do visit, but its main importance is for wild bees and some butterflies. It is very common in wet grasslands in the Netherlands and Germany.
Flowering
It flowers for 3-5 weeks from April to May, before most meadows are mown; this coincides with the fruit-tree bloom.
Honey and pollen
There is no honey under its own name; it makes a very small contribution to spring multifloral honeys.
Note for the beekeeper
Late mowing of wet meadows helps protect this and other meadow flowers. In Turkey, closely related species grow in the damp high meadows of the north-east; for beekeeping they are all minor spring sources.