Broad bean
An early-spring legume; flowers suit bumblebees, but honey bees collect nectar from stipule nectaries and robbed flowers, plus some pollen.
- Nectar
- Medium
- Pollen
- Medium
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Height
- 0.5-1.5 m
- Life cycle
- Annual
🐝 Add to my apiary
Log in to add it to your apiary.Value for beekeeping
The broad bean flower has a deep tube and heavy wing petals; its main pollinators are bumblebees. Honey bees benefit in two ways: from the dark-spotted extrafloral nectaries on the stipules at the leaf base, and from holes that bumblebees bite in the base of the flower. Pollen is collected too and supports colony build-up in early spring.
Flowering
On the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts, autumn-sown crops flower in March-April; in inland and northern regions, spring-sown crops flower in May-June, for 3-4 weeks.
Honey and pollen
Honey is rarely produced under its own name; it goes into early-spring multifloral honeys. Over large fields, the pleasant scent of the flowers draws bees from far away.
Note for the beekeeper
Bee visits markedly increase broad bean yield and seed fill, so placing hives also benefits the farmer. Broad bean fields are often sprayed against aphids, so take care over spraying times during flowering.