European nettle tree
A common Mediterranean shade tree; its small wind-pollinated spring flowers give little pollen and no nectar. Of negligible value to beekeepers.
- Nectar
- None
- Pollen
- Low
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Height
- 15-25 m
- Life cycle
- Perennial
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The European nettle tree is a drought-tolerant, long-lived tree of the Mediterranean basin and western Asia; in Turkey it occurs both wild and as a street tree in the Aegean and Mediterranean regions. Its flowers are small, greenish and inconspicuous, and largely wind-pollinated. It gives no nectar, and the amount of pollen is small for bees.
Flowering
It flowers briefly in March-April, together with the leaves. Since almond, plum and spring herbs are far more attractive at this time, bees hardly visit the nettle tree.
Honey and pollen
It is not a honey source; its pollen contribution is negligible.
Note for the beekeeper
It can be useful around the apiary for shade and as a windbreak, but it should not be planted as a food source. Its close relative in Turkey, Celtis tournefortii, is likewise unimportant for beekeeping. Its sweet fruits, which ripen in autumn, attract birds.