Melliferous flower

A melliferous flower is a plant which produces substances that can be collected by insects and turned into honey. Many plants are melliferous, but only certain examples can be harvested by honey bees, because of their physiognomy (body size and shape, length of proboscis, etc.) Apiculture classifies a plant as melliferous if it can be harvested by domesticated honey bees.

The table below lists some of the known melliferous plants, and indicates the flowering period, as well as the resources harvested by bees (Nectar, pollen, propolis, and honeydew). Each plant does not produce the same quantity or quality of these resources, and even among species the production can vary due to region, plant health, climate, etc.

Plant table

Plains plants

Image	Common name	Latin name	Flowering months	Nectar	Pollen	Propolis	Honeydew
50px	Acacia (Robinia "false acacia")	robinia pseudacacia	05-06	X	X	.	.
50px	Corn poppy	papaver rhoeas	04-05	.	X	.	.
50px	Common Dogwood	cornus sanguinea	05-06	X	X	.	.
50px	Ribes	ribes rubrum	04-05	X	X	.	.
50px	European holly	ilex aquifolium	05-06	X	X	.	.
	Hedera helix	hedera helix	09-10	X	X	X	.
50px	White mustard	sinapis alba	05-09	X	X	.	.
	Hazel	corylus avellana	01-03	.	X	.	X
50px	Dandelion	taraxacum officinale	05-06	X	X	.	.
50px	Salix caprea	salix caprea	02-04	X	X	.	.
50px	White clover	trifolium repens	05-07	X	X	.	.
50px	Coltsfoot	tussilago farfara	02-04	.	X	.	.

Mediterranean plants

Image	Common name	Latin name	Flowering months	Nectar	Pollen	Propolis	Honeydew
	Almond	prunus dulcis	02-04	X	X	.	.
	Strawberry tree	arbutus unedo	10-01	X	.	.	.
	Buxus	buxus sempervirens	04-05	X	X	.	.
50px	Viburnum tinus	viburnum tinus	02-06	X	X	.	.
	Rosemary	rosmarinus officinalis	11-04	X	X	.	.
50px	Thyme	thymus vulgaris	04-09	X	.	.	.

Mountain plants

Image	Common name	Latin name	Flowering months	Nectar	Pollen	Propolis	Honeydew
	Garden angelica	angelica sylvestris	07-08	X	X	.	.
	Arnica montana	arnica montana	07-08	X	X	.	.
50px	Erica	erica cinerea	07-09	X	X	.	.
50px	Calluna	calluna vulgaris	08-10	X	X	.	.
	Sweet chestnut	castanea sativa	06-07	X	X	.	X
50px	Milk thistle	Silybum marianum	07-08	X	X	.	.
50px	Fireweed	epilobium angustifolium	07-09	X	X	.	.
50px	Acer platanoides	acer pseudoplatanus	03-04	X	X	X	X
50px	Acer pseudoplatanus	acer platanoides	05-06	X	X	.	X
50px	Raspberry	rubus idaeus	06-07	X	X	.	.
50px	Gentiana lutea	gentiana lutea	07-08	X	X	.	.
50px	Hellebore	helleborus niger	01-04	X	X	.	.
	Boxthorn	lycium barbarum	07-08	X	X	.	.
50px	Blueberry	vaccinium myrtillus	05-06	X	X	.	.
50px	Snowdrop	galanthus nivalis	01-03	X	X	.	.
50px	Rhododendron	Rhododendron ferrugineum	06-08	X	X	.	.
50px	Silver fir	Abies alba	05	.	X	.	X
	Savory	satureja montana	07-08	X	.	.	.
	Wild thyme	thymus serpyllum	06-09	X	.	.	.
50px	Rowan	sorbus aucuparia	05-06	X	X	X	.

Cultured plants

Image	Common name	Latin name	Flowering months	Nectar	Pollen	Propolis	Honeydew
50px	Sunflower	helianthus annuus	07-08	X	X	.	.
	Lavender	Lavandula intermedia	06-07	X	X	.	.