Spanish broom
The fragrant yellow-flowered shrub of Mediterranean coasts; nectarless but rich in pollen, a good early-summer pollen source in maquis.
- Nectar
- None
- Pollen
- Good
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Height
- 1-3 m
- Life cycle
- Perennial
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Spanish broom is a shrub with green, almost leafless-looking stems, very common in maquis, on road embankments and in abandoned fields along the Mediterranean and Aegean coasts. Its flowers contain no nectar; when a bee lands on the flower, the wing petals open and pollen is thrown onto the bee's underside. Thanks to this mechanism honey bees collect plenty of pollen in a short time.
Flowering
From May to July, in the coastal belt, it bears strongly scented yellow flowers for about 6-8 weeks. Part of the flowering coincides with the start of the summer drought.
Honey and pollen
As it produces no nectar, it makes no direct contribution to honey production; but in coastal apiaries it can supply a large share of the early-summer pollen intake.
Note for the beekeeper
It is a good plant for erosion control and road embankments. The plant contains cytisine and is poisonous to animals; no harm is known for bees or pollen. It is invasive in California and Australia, while in Turkey it is a native species.