Cotton thistle
A tall thistle whose purple heads yield nectar in the dry midsummer, easing the July dearth along pastures, roadsides and field edges.
- Nectar
- Good
- Pollen
- Medium
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Pollen colour
- Height
- 0,5-2,5 m
- Life cycle
- Biennial
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Cotton thistle is a striking biennial thistle with large, silvery-woolly leaves and a winged stem. Its purple flower heads are heavily visited by honey bees and bumblebees; thanks to its deep roots it keeps secreting nectar during summer drought. On its own it gives no major flow, but it helps keep the colony going during the dearth.
Flowering
It flowers from late June to August, and because the heads on each plant open in succession, flowering lasts 5-6 weeks. It favours disturbed, nitrogen-rich ground such as pastures, threshing floors, the surroundings of livestock pens and roadsides.
Honey and pollen
The pollen loads are whitish cream. The summer honeys it contributes to are light-coloured with a mild aroma; it is not known as a monofloral honey.
Note for the beekeeper
Livestock do not eat it, so it survives on grazed land. It is considered invasive in North America and Australia; in Turkey and Europe it is native, so there is no need to sow it, protecting it where it grows is enough.