Moderate
A useful pollen contribution — enough to count towards brood rearing in that month.
119 records · pollen value
- LavenderLavandula angustifoliaAn unusually good nectar plant relative to its pollen offering. Bees visiting lavender are mostly there for nectar, which is why it supports adult foragers well and contributes less to brood rearing.
- RosemarySalvia rosmarinusThe timing is what makes it exceptional rather than the volume. A high-value plant in March is worth far more to bees than a better plant in July, when everything is flowering.
- ThymeThymusA low aromatic Mediterranean subshrub that produces one of the world's great honeys and, at garden scale, one of the best-value bee plants per square metre of anything you can grow. Thyme flowers densely, tolerates the poorest soil, and can be walked on — creeping thymes planted in gravel or between paving turn dead space into forage.
- FoxgloveDigitalis purpureaHigh value to a narrow group. This is exactly the plant a 'bee friendly' score would misrepresent: excellent for long-tongued bumblebees, largely irrelevant to honey bees.
- MānukaLeptospermum scopariumA good nectar source during its brief flowering and of limited use outside it. A landscape of nothing but mānuka is a feast followed by a famine.
- LimeTilia cordataExtraordinary nectar productivity concentrated into a very short window. Its urban prevalence makes it disproportionately important to city beekeeping.
- Strawberry treeArbutus unedoValuable out of all proportion to its abundance, because of when it flowers. Late nectar lets colonies enter winter with fresh stores in a landscape that has otherwise shut down.
- SidrZiziphus spina-christiIn much of its range sidr is not merely a good forage plant but effectively the only one at that time of year, which makes it structurally critical rather than simply valuable.
- Ogeechee tupeloNyssa ogecheExceptional nectar in a short window, in a habitat with little competing bloom at that moment. Its value is concentration in time and space rather than volume across a season.
- BuckwheatFagopyrum esculentumGenuinely useful as a late-summer gap filler, and its speed from sowing to flower makes it one of the few forage plants that can be deployed tactically within a single season.
- BlueberryVaccinium corymbosumUseful early forage, and a textbook illustration that abundant flowers do not guarantee an efficient pollination relationship.
- SnowdropGalanthus nivalisRated low for nectar and it matters anyway, which is the clearest case on the site for why timing belongs alongside quantity. A moderate pollen source in February is worth more to a colony than a high one in July.
- Winter honeysuckleLonicera fragrantissimaModerate ratings that punch far above their weight because of when they arrive. Nothing else that is easy to grow flowers so reliably in December and January.
- SageSalviaVery high nectar and only moderate pollen — sage feeds adult foragers superbly and contributes comparatively little to brood rearing, which is a common pattern in the mint family.
- MintMenthaGood nectar at a genuinely useful point in the season. Its value is timing and reliability rather than volume.
- CatmintNepetaVery high nectar over an exceptionally long season. Its ratings are strong and its real distinction is duration.
- ComfreySymphytum officinaleExceptional nectar, but genuinely restricted by flower shape — which is why the separate rating for accessibility matters more here than almost anywhere else.
- VerbenaVerbena bonariensisGood ratings sustained over an exceptionally long season, and delivered late — verbena is often the last substantial nectar in a garden before ivy.
- TeaselDipsacus fullonumGood nectar at a useful moment, and its wider value is habitat rather than forage — the standing dead stems are among the best hollow-stem nesting sites a garden can offer.
- CornflowerCentaurea cyanusGood nectar over a long season from a cheap annual, and one of very few garden plants where a reader can actually see extrafloral nectaries at work.
- SedumHylotelephium spectabileGood nectar delivered at exactly the point when late bumblebee queens are fattening for hibernation and honey bees are topping up winter stores.
- BilberryVaccinium myrtillusGood nectar at a critical early moment for northern colonies and for emerging bumblebee queens, whose founding success tracks bilberry abundance closely in Fennoscandia.
- CarobCeratonia siliquaStructurally important rather than abundant — a good nectar source at a time of year when a Mediterranean colony has almost no alternatives.
- LemonCitrus limonExcellent nectar over an unusually long and repeated window, and only a moderate pollen contribution.
- VitexVitex negundoVery high nectar in a short window, from a plant that covers whole mountainsides.
- JujubeZiziphus jujubaA very high nectar source in arid and semi-arid country where the alternatives are few, which makes it structurally important as well as productive.
- QuillayQuillaja saponariaA good summer nectar source in dry country, and one of relatively few substantial ones in central Chile.
- LungwortPulmonaria officinalisGood nectar at the point in the year when bumblebee queens are founding nests and the earliest solitary bees are emerging.
- PrimrosePrimula vulgarisModerate on both counts, and it matters because of when it arrives rather than how much it offers.
- Flowering currantRibes sanguineumGood nectar at the most precarious moment of the bumblebee year, from a shrub that requires no attention whatsoever.
- Dead-nettleLamiumGood nectar over an exceptionally long season, including the winter months when almost nothing else is available to a foraging bumblebee.
- Forget-me-notMyosotis sylvaticaModerate on both counts, and valuable because the flowers are small and shallow enough for the smallest solitary bees that larger plants exclude.
- CowslipPrimula verisModerate ratings from a plant whose real value is as an indicator — cowslips mark grassland that has not been fertilised or reseeded, and such grassland supports a great deal else.
- Grape hyacinthMuscari armeniacumGood nectar in the spring gap, from a plant that costs almost nothing and requires no maintenance.
- HollyIlex aquifoliumGood nectar in the late spring, and an evergreen structure that provides shelter and nesting cover the rest of the year.
- Christmas boxSarcococca confusaModerate ratings that count for a great deal because they arrive in January, in dry shade, where the alternatives are nothing.
- Guelder roseViburnum opulusGood accessible nectar in early summer, and a useful lesson in reading a flower — most of what you can see is advertising rather than reward.
- Lamb's earStachys byzantinaGood nectar, and uniquely valuable as nest material for wool carder bees, which cannot nest without a woolly-leaved plant within reach.
- BetonyBetonica officinalisVery high nectar over a long window, and one of the better plants for long-tongued bumblebees, which are the group in most trouble.
- BergamotMonarda didymaGood nectar, and genuinely restricted by flower shape — the ratings and the accessibility note need reading together here.
- HyssopHyssopus officinalisVery high nectar per square metre from a small drought-proof plant, delivered across the late-summer gap.
- Witch hazelHamamelis × intermediaModerate on both counts and valuable entirely because of when it arrives. In its native range it is pollinated partly by winter-active moths.
- Alder buckthornFrangula alnusVery high nectar over a long window from an inconspicuous plant, and it is disproportionately important where damp woodland edge survives.
- WallflowerErysimumGood nectar across an exceptionally long season, from a small drought-proof plant. Very few things offer eight months of forage from one position.
- Black locustRobinia pseudoacaciaAn exceptional nectar source for a very short period. Pollen is useful but secondary — this is a nectar tree above all.
- Tulip treeLiriodendron tulipiferaA heavy nectar source and a moderate pollen source, concentrated in a narrow late-spring window.
- Black sageSalvia melliferaAn outstanding nectar source in a good year, and the backbone of the chaparral forage sequence.
- Sweet orangeCitrus sinensisA heavy nectar source over a substantial period, and moderate for pollen.
- CoffeeCoffea arabicaA heavy but very short-lived nectar source, in flushes rather than as a continuous flow.
- RewarewaKnightia excelsaA heavy nectar source in native forest, and an important one for the New Zealand forest bird community as well as for bees.
- Scots pinePinus sylvestrisNo floral nectar, moderate wind-borne pollen that bees will collect, and honeydew in very large quantities where the scale insect is established.
- Yellow starthistleCentaurea solstitialisAn outstanding summer nectar source in a season when Californian forage is otherwise very thin.
- CranberryVaccinium macrocarponA moderate nectar and pollen source, and one that honey bees are notably reluctant to work when anything else is available.
- GallberryIlex glabraAn excellent late-spring nectar source across the southeastern coastal plain.
- Red bartsiaOdontites vernusModest in volume and decisive in kind. A single specialist bee depends on it absolutely.
- Yellow rattleRhinanthus minorA moderate direct forage plant and an outsized indirect one, because it is what allows a grass sward to become a flower meadow.
- Japanese knotweedReynoutria japonicaAn excellent late nectar source, and moderate for pollen.
- SelfhealPrunella vulgarisA good nectar source and a moderate pollen source, and unusually valuable because it delivers them in mown grass.
- Lemon balmMelissa officinalisA good nectar source over a long season, provided it is allowed to flower — which is the catch, since it is usually harvested as a leaf herb before it does.
- Japanese pagoda treeStyphnolobium japonicumA good late nectar source and moderate pollen, at a genuinely useful point in the season.
- Bell heatherErica cinereaA good nectar source and moderate for pollen, over a long summer season on ground with few alternatives.
- Black mangroveAvicennia germinansA good summer nectar source in a coastal landscape with few alternatives.
- Brazilian pepperSchinus terebinthifoliaA good autumn nectar source at a point in the Florida year when colonies would otherwise be consuming stores.
- LogwoodHaematoxylum campechianumAn excellent dry-season nectar source across the Caribbean.
- SnowberrySymphoricarpos albusA good nectar source with an exceptionally long season, which is its principal virtue.
- American persimmonDiospyros virginianaA good nectar source where the trees are numerous.
- GojiLycium barbarumA useful nectar source over an unusually long season.
- ChiuriDiploknema butyraceaA valuable winter nectar source in the Himalayan mid-hills, where alternatives are scarce.
- Resin spurgeEuphorbia resiniferaA good spring nectar source on ground that offers very little else.
- ArganArgania spinosaA good spring nectar source in a semi-arid landscape with few alternatives.
- MopaneColophospermum mopaneModest floral nectar and a substantial honeydew resource, which is the reason the woodland supports beekeeping at all.
- TamariskTamarixA useful summer nectar source on saline and desert ground where little else flowers, plus a honeydew component.
- MahuaMadhuca longifoliaAn excellent spring nectar source at the hottest and driest point of the central Indian year.
- NeemAzadirachta indicaA good dry-season nectar source across the Indian subcontinent.
- BlackcurrantRibes nigrumA good early nectar source at a point when little else is available.
- GooseberryRibes uva-crispaA good early nectar source, and valuable disproportionately for its timing.
- WhitebeamSorbus ariaA good spring nectar source with completely accessible flowers.
- DogwoodCornus sanguineaA good early summer nectar source at a point where the hedgerow sequence would otherwise thin.
- SpindleEuonymus europaeusA modest nectar source and a highly accessible one, which makes it disproportionately useful to small bees.
- BuckthornRhamnus catharticaA modest but highly accessible nectar source over several weeks.
- Wild privetLigustrum vulgareA good midsummer nectar source, entirely dependent on the shrub being allowed to flower.
- Winter-flowering cherryPrunus x subhirtellaModest in volume and disproportionately valuable in timing — this is a plant whose worth is entirely about when it flowers.
- Winter clematisClematis cirrhosaModest in volume and valuable specifically for its timing.
- DaphneDaphneA good early nectar source, and valuable disproportionately for its timing.
- Hardy cyclamenCyclamen coumModest in volume and valuable in timing, covering the two thinnest points in the garden year.
- BugleAjuga reptansA good nectar source at a point in the season that is thinner than it looks, and specifically in shade where options are few.
- HonestyLunaria annuaA good spring nectar source in a season that is thinner than it appears, particularly in shade.
- Sweet rocketHesperis matronalisA good early summer nectar source, and one of the better plants for the day and night shift together.
- ColumbineAquilegia vulgarisA good nectar source that most bees cannot reach legitimately — which is precisely what makes it interesting.
- Woodland sageSalvia nemorosaAn outstanding nectar source over an exceptionally long season, and one of the best border plants for bumblebees.
- Lesser calamintClinopodium nepetaAn outstanding nectar source with one of the longest useful seasons of any garden perennial.
- Russian sageSalvia yangiiAn outstanding late nectar source over a long season, and reliable in drought when many border plants have stopped.
- BluebeardCaryopteris x clandonensisAn outstanding late-season nectar source, and among the busiest shrubs in a September garden.
- AbeliaLinnaea x grandifloraA good nectar source over one of the longest seasons of any garden shrub.
- EscalloniaEscallonia rubraA good nectar source over a long season, entirely dependent on the shrub being allowed to flower.
- Winter savorySatureja montanaAn outstanding nectar source for its size, and one of the best small aromatic herbs for bees.
- ElaeagnusElaeagnus x submacrophyllaA generous late-autumn nectar source, and valuable disproportionately for its timing.
- Seven-son flowerHeptacodium miconioidesA generous late-season nectar source, and among the better shrubs for autumn forage.
- AgapanthusAgapanthus praecoxA good summer nectar source, with each head offering dozens of flowers in a single visit.
- Giant catmintNepeta racemosaAn outstanding nectar source over one of the longest seasons of any garden perennial.
- Tree of heavenAilanthus altissimaA heavy urban and post-industrial nectar source, and an uncomfortable one: the same qualities that make it valuable to bees make it a landscape problem.
- Greek heathErica manipulifloraThe most important autumn forage across much of the Aegean, and the reason colonies there can be wintered without heavy feeding.
- MotherwortLeonurus cardiacaA heavy nectar plant with a long season, widely recommended in Russian and Ukrainian beekeeping literature and largely overlooked elsewhere.
- Holm oakQuercus ilexA pollen source in spring and, in the right years, a substantial honeydew source from midsummer onwards. The two have nothing to do with each other.
- TulsiOcimum tenuiflorumA dependable post-monsoon source in Indian apiaries, and one of the few whose cultivated area is driven by religious and medicinal use rather than by agriculture.
- MoringaMoringa oleiferaA dependable year-round trickle rather than a flow, which in a dryland landscape is worth more than its volume suggests.
- LycheeLitchi chinensisOne of the most valuable subtropical orchard flows there is, and a crop whose yield rises measurably where colonies are present.
- RambutanNephelium lappaceumA reliable orchard flow, and one where bee pollination measurably lifts fruit set — most rambutan trees carry functionally male and hermaphrodite flowers and need the transfer.
- MangiumAcacia mangiumA substantial plantation flow across Southeast Asia, produced by a mechanism most beekeeping literature does not cover — extrafloral nectar, secreted by the leaf rather than the flower.
- TamarindTamarindus indicaA valuable hot-season source across India and the Sahel, and one of the few substantial flows available immediately before the rains.
- Green cardamomElettaria cardamomumA modest flow with an outsized agricultural significance: cardamom yield rises substantially where honey bee colonies are present, and estates stock hives for that reason.
- BushwillowCombretum speciesA major and under-documented African honey source, second only to the acacias across much of the savannah belt.
- ManzanitaArctostaphylos speciesThe critical winter and early-spring source across Californian chaparral, feeding colonies through the build-up towards almond pollination.
- Mountain mintPycnanthemum speciesRepeatedly recorded as attracting more pollinator species than any other plant in comparative garden trials, and a genuinely outstanding choice for insect diversity rather than for honey volume.
- XtabentúnTurbina corymbosaA short intense morning flow across the Yucatán scrub, worked by both honey bees and the region's managed stingless bees.
- TiacaCaldcluvia paniculataThe second half of the Chilean native-forest season, extending the crop by several weeks after ulmo finishes.
- ChañarGeoffroea decorticansA short, heavy and locally important spring flow across the Argentine dry interior.
- TowaiWeinmannia silvicolaThe first native forest crop of the northern New Zealand season, and one that is increasingly marketed on its own terms rather than blended.
- WilgaGeijera parvifloraA dependable inland source when the rains have come, and one of the few trees that gives the western New South Wales apiaries anything at all in winter.
Other pollen value groups
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