Meadow crane's-bill
Large violet-blue crane's-bill of moist meadows and verges; good nectar and pollen for honey bees in early and midsummer.
- Nectar
- Good
- Pollen
- Medium
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Height
- 0.3-0.9 m
- Life cycle
- Perennial
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Meadow crane's-bill is a perennial herb of damp, nutrient-rich meadows, roadsides and stream banks from Europe to Siberia, the Caucasus and northeastern Anatolia. Above its deeply divided leaves it bears finely veined violet-blue flowers 3–4 cm across. The nectar collects in five glands at the base of the petals and is easy to reach; the veins guide bees to it. Because the flowers pass first through a male and then a female stage, they depend on insect visits for pollination, and honey bees work them regularly.
Flowering
It flowers from June to August; there may be a second flowering after mowing.
Honey and pollen
It has no honey of its own; it contributes to meadow and highland honeys. Pollen is also collected.
Note for the beekeeper
It is a long-lived, low-maintenance garden plant, and many cultivars are recommended for bee gardens. Not mowing meadows before flowering is over preserves the contribution of this and similar species to the summer flow.