Wand sage
One of the commonest sages of the Anatolian steppe, roadsides and field edges; its violet-blue flowers from June to August give good midsummer nectar and pollen.
- Nectar
- Good
- Pollen
- Medium
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Height
- 0,3-1 m
- Life cycle
- Perennial
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Wand sage is a very common perennial of steppe, fallow fields, roadsides and grazed land from the Balkans to Anatolia, the Caucasus, Iran and Central Asia. Purple-blue two-lipped flowers open on sparsely branched flower spikes rising from a broad basal rosette of leaves. Honey bees reach its nectar easily and visit it constantly in midsummer, especially in central Anatolia.
Flowering
It flowers for a long time from June to August. Thanks to its deep roots it can keep secreting nectar even in dry summer conditions; bee traffic is heavy in the morning and before noon.
Honey and pollen
It has no separate commercial honey; it is one of the important components of blossom honeys from central and eastern Anatolia. Its pollen contribution is moderate.
Note for the beekeeper
Mowing of roadsides in midsummer and heavy grazing cut its flowering short. Propagating it with local seed in field-margin strips eases the summer dearth in dry regions. In North America it has spread as a weed.