St John's wort
A common summer plant without nectar whose many stamens give plenty of pollen; bees visit it mostly in the morning to gather pollen.
- Nectar
- None
- Pollen
- Good
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Pollen colour
- Height
- 0,3-1 m
- Life cycle
- Perennial
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St John's wort secretes no nectar; hundreds of stamens, grouped in bundles in the centre of its five-petalled yellow flowers, give plenty of pollen. It is common on dry grassland, in woodland clearings, on roadsides and in abandoned fields. Bees visit heavily, especially in the morning while the pollen is still fresh; bumblebees and solitary bees are also important visitors.
Flowering
It flowers for 6-8 weeks from June to August; in dry areas it is a valuable source during the summer pollen dearth.
Honey and pollen
It makes no contribution to honey production. The pollen loads are orange-yellow in tone.
Note for the beekeeper
It is a native species in Turkey and in summer spontaneously covers large areas of dry pasture. Graziers do not welcome it because it can cause photosensitivity in livestock; it is considered invasive in North America and Australia, whereas in Turkey and Europe it is part of the native flora.