Grass-poly
Small pink-flowered annual of seasonal pools and damp field hollows; its contribution to beekeeping is small and local.
- Nectar
- Low
- Pollen
- Low
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Height
- 0.1-0.3 m
- Life cycle
- Annual
🐝 Add to my apiary
Log in to add it to your apiary.Value for beekeeping
This species is a small annual, 10–30 cm tall, that grows in hollows that hold water in winter and spring and dry out in summer, on the shores of lakes and ponds, in damp field bottoms and in wheel ruts. It is related to purple loosestrife, Lythrum salicaria, but unlike that plant's showy spikes it carries small, pale pink flowers that open singly in the leaf axils. Honey bees visit it from time to time; because the flowers are small and sparse, its nectar and pollen contribution is low.
Flowering
It flowers from June to September as the water recedes.
Honey and pollen
It has no honey of its own, and its contribution to mixed honeys is negligible.
Note for the beekeeper
Its real importance is as part of the natural vegetation of temporary wetlands; in some European countries it is protected because it has declined. Sowing it for beekeeping is not recommended; along wetland margins Lythrum salicaria is a far more valuable source.