European dewberry
A low, trailing bramble of stream banks and moist field edges; flowering from May to August, it supplies good nectar and greyish pollen through the summer.
- Nectar
- Good
- Pollen
- Medium
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Pollen colour
- Height
- 0,3-1 m
- Life cycle
- Perennial
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European dewberry is a bramble whose thin, bluish-bloomed stems spread by trailing along the ground or among low scrub. Its typical habitats are stream and river banks, damp meadows, and the edges of fields and vineyards. Its white flowers are open in structure like those of other brambles; the nectar is easy to reach and honey bees visit them heavily.
Flowering
It flowers in waves from late May to August. Because it grows in moist soil, it keeps secreting longer even during summer drought; nectar flow is best on warm, slightly humid days.
Honey and pollen
It has no separate commercial honey but makes an important contribution to mixed summer honeys. Its pollen loads are the greyish-white typical of brambles.
Note for the beekeeper
In lowland and streamside apiaries it eases the summer dearth after the harvest. On farmland it is commonly grubbed out as a weed; leaving it along field margins and ditch strips benefits bees. Its fruit has a blue bloom and is edible.