Crown vetch
A spreading perennial legume with pink-white flower heads common on banks and verges; weak nectar for honey bees, moderate pollen.
- Nectar
- Low
- Pollen
- Medium
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Height
- 0.3-1.2 m
- Life cycle
- Perennial
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Crown vetch is a legume that spreads rapidly through long underground stems and forms a dense cover on embankments, roadsides and dry meadows. Its flowers are gathered in pink-and-white heads of 10-20. The nectar inside the flower is scant and hard for bees to reach; honey bees come mainly for pollen, while bumblebees and wild bees visit more regularly.
Flowering
It flowers for a long period from June to August, opening new heads at intervals. That is why it matters that it offers a source, however small, during the summer dearth.
Honey and pollen
No honey is produced under its own name; its contribution to summer multifloral honeys is small. Its pollen contribution is moderate.
Note for the beekeeper
The plant contains nitro compounds and is considered poisonous, especially to non-ruminants such as horses; no marked harm to bees has been reported. It is invasive in North America and native in Turkey and Europe. It is not a species to recommend sowing for bees.