Marrubium astracanicum
A pink-purple horehound of dry stony slopes in East Anatolia and the Caucasus; its mint-family nectar makes a small summer contribution.
- Nectar
- Medium
- Pollen
- Low
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Height
- 0,2-0,5 m
- Life cycle
- Perennial
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Marrubium astracanicum is a woolly-haired perennial of the mint family that grows on dry, stony mountain slopes in eastern Anatolia, the Caucasus and Iran. Its pink-purple lipped flowers, arranged in whorls in the leaf axils, are larger and showier than those of the white-flowered species of the genus. Honey bees and bumblebees visit for nectar; the plant's sparse, scattered growth limits its contribution.
Flowering
It flowers between June and August and stays in bloom in midsummer, after thyme and milkvetch.
Honey and pollen
It gives no monofloral honey; it is one of the minor components of mountain pasture honey. Nectar and pollen data specific to the species are very limited.
Note for the beekeeper
The common species of the same genus, white horehound (Marrubium vulgare), is known as a moderate nectar source; a similar value can be expected for this species. On dry plateaus it should be valued as part of the diversity of the vegetation.