Horse mint
A wild mint common along streams, springs and wet margins; flowering from midsummer to autumn, it supplies steady nectar in moist spots during drought.
- Nectar
- Good
- Pollen
- Medium
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Height
- 0,5-1,2 m
- Life cycle
- Perennial
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A grey-haired mint of stream banks, springs and canal sides and damp meadows from Europe to Anatolia, the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa. It occurs in almost every region of Turkey. Its nectar value is good and its pollen contribution moderate; because it stays in flower in damp places during the dry summer months, it is an important secondary source.
Flowering
Its dense lilac-pink spikes open from June to September and, depending on altitude and water supply, can last into October. As its roots reach water, secretion continues even when the weather is dry; bee visits are heavy on hot, calm afternoons.
Honey and pollen
It gives no monofloral honey; it can add a fresh, light minty aroma to mixed highland and streamside honeys.
Note for the beekeeper
On late-summer moves, stream valleys rich in horse mint help colonies keep up brood rearing during the dearth. In eastern Anatolia it is also known locally as pung or punk.