Great willowherb
A pink-flowered plant forming tall stands along streams, ditches and wet margins; in late summer it gives bees good nectar and moderate pollen.
- Nectar
- Good
- Pollen
- Medium
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Height
- 0,8-1,8 m
- Life cycle
- Perennial
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Great willowherb is common from Europe to Anatolia, the Middle East and North Africa along streams, in ditches, at the edges of reedbeds and along irrigation canals. It spreads by underground stems and forms dense clumps. The nectar in the centre of its purple-pink, four-petalled flowers is easy to reach; bees visit the plant regularly in late summer. It is not as productive as its relative rosebay willowherb (Chamerion angustifolium), but it is an important contribution in wetlands.
Flowering
It flowers for 6-8 weeks from July to September, overlapping with the summer dearth.
Honey and pollen
No single-flower honey is produced; it contributes to summer honeys from wetland areas. No reliable record of the pollen load colour was found.
Note for the beekeeper
Not mowing stream and canal banks in midsummer helps preserve this source. For apiaries near damp areas it can be counted as part of the August flow.