Crambe
An East African crucifer grown for industrial oil; its masses of small white flowers give bees good nectar in early summer.
- Nectar
- Good
- Pollen
- Medium
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Height
- 0.6-1.2 m
- Life cycle
- Annual
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Crambe is an annual crucifer from the Ethiopian highlands, grown for the plastics, lubricant and cosmetics industries because its oil is very rich in erucic acid. The many small white flowers opening in branched racemes are visited intensively by honey bees; trial plantings in the USA and Europe have shown it to be a good nectar plant. Its pollen contribution is moderate.
Flowering
It flowers for 3-4 weeks, starting 6-8 weeks after spring sowing, mostly between June and July.
Honey and pollen
A separate crambe honey has not become established commercially; its honey should be light-coloured like other crucifer honeys, but detailed measured data are limited.
Note for the beekeeper
In Turkey its production is at trial level. Some classifications treat it as a subspecies within Crambe hispanica. The related species Crambe orientalis and Crambe tataria grow on the Turkish steppes and are known as good honey plants.