Buckthorn family plants for bees
Sidr honey comes from this family, and so does one of the best small native nectar shrubs in Europe — a hedgerow plant almost nobody plants deliberately.
Why this family matters
Rhamnaceae flowers are small, greenish and easy to walk past, which is why alder buckthorn is so under-planted: it produces very high nectar over a long season and is worked constantly despite being almost invisible in flower. At the other end of the family, Ziziphus — sidr and jujube — yields the honeys of Yemen, Pakistan and the Arabian peninsula, which are among the most expensive in the world and are produced in some of the harshest country any bee works.
When it flowers
Alder buckthorn and jujube flower from May to July in the north. Sidr flowers October to December, at the end of the Arabian rains, which is why sidr honey has a single short annual harvest and a price that reflects it.
Which bees it serves
Alder buckthorn is also the sole larval food plant of the brimstone butterfly in Britain, which is a good argument for planting a shrub whose flowers you will never notice. Sidr is worked by both Apis mellifera and the smaller Apis florea across its range.
Buckthorn family plants in the catalogue
- SidrZiziphus spina-christiOctober to December. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop
- JujubeZiziphus jujubaMay to July. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop
- Alder buckthornFrangula alnusMay to July. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Minor honey crop
- BuckthornRhamnus catharticaMay to June. Nectar moderate, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
What this group covers
6 of 12 months have something in flower. Nectar and pollen are counted separately and a month counts only where at least one plant offers that resource at moderate value or better — a plant in flower is not the same as a plant worth visiting.
| Month | In flower | Nectar | Pollen |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | nothing | No | No |
| February | nothing | No | No |
| March | nothing | No | No |
| April | nothing | No | No |
| May | 3 | Yes | Yes |
| June | 3 | Yes | Yes |
| July | 2 | Yes | Yes |
| August | nothing | No | No |
| September | nothing | No | No |
| October | 1 | Yes | Yes |
| November | 1 | Yes | Yes |
| December | 1 | Yes | Yes |
What this group does not cover
Nothing in flower: January, February, March, April, August, September. Planting only from this group would leave those months empty.
Check these against your region before planting
1 plant in this group carry an invasiveness or legal restriction note somewhere in the world: Buckthorn. HoneyHQ does not know where you are and will not guess, so it flags rather than filters.
Bees these plants are recorded with
Taken from the relationships on each plant record. These are the well-attested associations rather than an exhaustive list of visitors, so treat the number as a floor.
Honeys from these plants
- Sidr honeyRich, dark and layered — caramel and dried fruit first, then a faintly medicinal bitterness and a long savoury finish. Complex in a way few honeys are.
- Samar honeyStrong and resinous with a warm caramelised depth and a distinct dry-country character — more assertive than sidr and less floral.
- Chinese jujube honeyRich and dark with dried dates and burnt caramel, and a genuine bitterness on the finish that sets it apart from its Middle Eastern relatives.
- Ber honeyWarm and rich with dried dates and caramel, and a faint herbal bitterness on the finish — recognisably a Ziziphus honey, and lighter than Yemeni sidr.
- Wildflower honeyVaries with the season and the landscape. Pale spring crops are floral and light; late-summer crops darker, fruitier and stronger.
Other families
- Daisy family
- Mint family
- Rose family
- Pea family
- Honeysuckle family
- Heather family
- Buttercup family
- Myrtle family
- Cabbage family
- Borage family
- Carrot family
- Mallow family
- Onion family
- Maple and horse chestnut family
- Sapodilla family
- Plantain family
- Citrus family
- Protea family
- Primrose family
- Asparagus family
- Currant family
- Elder and viburnum family
- Pine family
- Cashew and mango family
- Palm family
- Ivy family
- Oak and chestnut family
- Leatherwood family
- Spurge family
Plan with these
- Flowering calendar
What should I plant so that something is always in flower for bees?
- Bee-friendly garden planner
What should I plant in the space I actually have?
- Plant recommendation tool
Which plant fills this specific gap?