Hoary cress
Perennial cress spreading by roots into white carpets on fields, verges and irrigated land; good spring nectar and pollen.
- Nectar
- Good
- Pollen
- Medium
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Height
- 0.2-0.6 m
- Life cycle
- Perennial
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Hoary cress, formerly Cardaria draba, is a perennial herb that spreads rapidly by underground roots and is very common on field edges, irrigated land, roadsides and canal banks in central, eastern and southeastern Anatolia. It bears thousands of small white flowers in dense, flat-topped clusters and gives off a faint scent reminiscent of honey. Its nectar is good and easily reached; its large patches give honey bees a short but intense spring flow.
Flowering
It flowers for about 3–5 weeks between April and June, filling the period after the fruit trees and before lucerne and sainfoin.
Honey and pollen
It is not known as a separate monofloral honey; it goes into mixed spring honeys. Pollen is also collected.
Note for the beekeeper
For farmers it is a hard-to-eradicate weed and is controlled with herbicides in fields; spraying while it is in flower can harm bees. It is considered invasive in North America and Australia.