Ribwort plantain

Value for beekeeping

Ribwort plantain is very common in meadows, pastures, roadsides and lawns. Long-stalked whitish anthers are arranged around its short, cylindrical spikes; it is wind-pollinated and produces no nectar. Honey bees collect pollen from the spikes especially early in the morning, before the wind has dispersed it.

Flowering

From late April to September; it puts up new spikes after mowing and so stays in flower for a long time.

Honey and pollen

It makes no nectar contribution to honey, but its pollen is often found in pollen trap samples and in honey. Pollen loads are dark and dull in tone.

Note for the beekeeper

Because it is always present, it adds to pollen diversity during the summer dearth; however, it cannot feed a colony on its own. Its pollen is one of the causes of hay fever in people. Mowing the meadows around the apiary less often preserves this source.