Lupinus micranthus
A wild lupin of sandy, acid soils on Mediterranean coasts with blue spring flowers; it has no nectar and offers bees pollen only.
- Nectar
- None
- Pollen
- Medium
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Height
- 0.2-0.5 m
- Life cycle
- Annual
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Lupinus micranthus is a hairy annual legume of the Mediterranean basin, growing in sandy, lime-free soils, in olive groves and in pine-forest clearings. Its blue, white-tipped papilionaceous flowers produce no nectar. When a bee lands on the flower, pollen is pushed out of the keel like a piston; honey bees and wild bees collect pollen this way.
Flowering
It flowers for about 4-6 weeks between March and May. During spring build-up it adds pollen diversity for colonies in coastal regions.
Honey and pollen
Having no nectar, it does not contribute to honey.
Note for the beekeeper
The seeds contain bitter alkaloids and cannot be eaten without processing; no reports are known of the pollen harming bees. Through its root nodules it fixes nitrogen and improves poor sandy soils. For bee pasture it should be considered together with legumes that also yield nectar in spring (lucerne, sainfoin, clover).