Alfalfa (Lucerne)
Medicago sativa
- Flowering period
- June–September
- Nectar
- gut
- Pollen
- gering
Alfalfa (Lucerne) flowers from June to September and provides good nectar but only little pollen. Its pollination mechanism strikes the bee on the head, which is why honeybees often approach the flowers from the side and take the nectar without pollinating. In large stands it nevertheless produces a decent summer flow. For wild bees it is an important forage plant.
Sources (7)
- Bienenweidekatalog Baden-Württemberg, Ministerium für Ernährung, Ländlichen Raum und Verbraucherschutz mit Universität Hohenheim
- Trachtpflanzen-Katalog Bienenroute: Saat-Luzerne
- Bienenweiden, Hortipendium
- Luzerne (Medicago sativa), Wikipedia
- Filipiak, Walczyńska, Denisow, Petanidou, Ziółkowska (2022): Phenology and production of pollen, nectar and sugar in 1612 plant species from various environments
- Baude, Kunin, Memmott (2015): Nectar sugar values of common British plant species [AgriLand]
- Baude, Kunin, Davies, Wright, Memmott (2025): Pollen production values of common British plant species