Soapwort
Saponaria officinalis
- Flowering period
- June–October
- Nectar
- gering
- Pollen
- gering
Common soapwort flowers from June to October and provides only small quantities of nectar and pollen. It is a perennial that grows on banks, railway embankments and river banks and forms dense stands via runners. Its flowers open in the evening and are then strongly scented; they are designed for moths. Accordingly, little is left for honeybees. British measurements give around 446 micrograms of sugar per flower per day, around 1,588 pollen grains per flower and a nectar yield of around 73 kilograms of sugar per hectare per year.
Sources (7)
- Trachtpflanzen-Katalog Bienenroute: Seifenkraut
- Seifenkraut, Pflanzensteckbrief bei Die Honigmacher (Deutscher Imkerbund)
- Saponaria officinalis, Wikipedia
- Saponaria officinalis, Euro+Med PlantBase über PESI
- 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