Autumn crocus
A highly poisonous corm flowering in damp autumn meadows; it gives bees pollen and a little nectar late in the season and calls for caution.
- Nectar
- Low
- Pollen
- Medium
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Height
- 0,1-0,3 m
- Life cycle
- Perennial
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Autumn crocus flowers leafless in autumn; its leaves and fruit appear in spring. Its pink-lilac, crocus-like flowers give little nectar and moderate pollen. During the late-summer dearth it adds a little pollen for rearing winter brood in apiaries near damp meadows.
Flowering
It flowers from late August to October. Its natural range is Central and Western Europe; in Turkey dozens of native Colchicum species flower in a similar way in autumn.
Honey and pollen
Its contribution to honey production is insignificant. No reliable record of the pollen colour was found.
Note for the beekeeper
Poisonous: all parts of the plant contain colchicine and can be fatal to people and animals. Colchicine is reported to occur in pollen and nectar as well; poisoning through honey, however, is not a documented problem. The plant should not be planted deliberately, and care is needed if collected pollen is used for consumption.