Chicory
The blue-flowered summer plant of roadsides; flowers open only in the morning, when honey bees gather nectar and distinctive white pollen.
- Nectar
- Medium
- Pollen
- Medium
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Pollen colour
- Height
- 0.3-1.5 m
- Life cycle
- Perennial
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Chicory is a sky-blue-flowered perennial of the daisy family, very common on roadsides, field margins and dry meadows. Each flower is open for only one day, mostly from early morning until midday; honey bees therefore visit chicory intensively in the mornings. Its nectar and pollen contribution is moderate.
Flowering
It flowers for a very long time from June to September, continually opening new heads. In the summer dearth it is one of the few sources still open on dry slopes.
Honey and pollen
No honey is produced under its own name; it contributes to summer multifloral honeys. The pollen loads are distinctly white or off-white; white pollen at the hive entrance often points to chicory.
Note for the beekeeper
Root chicory (a coffee substitute) and forage chicory varieties make good summer bee pasture if left to flower. Delaying roadside mowing leaves bees a long-lasting source.