Lotus jujube
A thorny jujube forming thickets on the dry plains of North Africa; it gives plenty of nectar in early summer and yields a prized monofloral honey in Morocco.
- Nectar
- Good
- Pollen
- Medium
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Height
- 1-2 m
- Life cycle
- Perennial
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Lotus jujube forms low, dense, thorny scrub on the dry plains of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya; in Europe it is found only at a few sites such as south-eastern Spain and Sicily. It is very drought-tolerant, and its small, yellowish-green flowers, which open in early summer, yield plenty of nectar.
Flowering
It flowers from May to July; secretion continues even in hot, dry weather, which matters at a time when other sources have dried up. Its pollen value is moderate.
Honey and pollen
The prized monofloral honey sold in Morocco as sidr or jujube honey comes largely from this species. The honey is amber, thick and aromatic; no reliable data were found on how fast it crystallises.
Note for the beekeeper
In Morocco the scrub is being cleared for farmland, which is shrinking the resource. Its small populations in Europe are protected habitats; if hives are to be placed there, check local permits. It is not known to occur naturally in Turkey.