Heather as a honey plant

Heather as a honey plant is a very valuable plant that can often be found in the northern forest regions of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, in Europe - Poland, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Scotland, Finland, Sweden, Norway and other countries. From heather bees collect fine heather honey. Honey heather is a valuable plant, which is also used in forest management, in folk medicine, and also as an ornamental plant.

Content

• Description of the honey plant common heather
• Where heather grows like a honey plant
• When the heather blooms like a honey plant
• Heather as a honey plant
• Heather honey productivity
• heather pollen
• Heather swamp honey plant
• Heather honey collection
• Heather bee honey
• Heather honey plant as an ornamental plant
• Heather honey plant as a medicinal plant
• Another use of heather honey plant

 

 

 

Description of the honey plant common heather

Heather common Latin name Calluna vulgaris (L.) Hull. The melliferous plant common heather is called common heather in Ukraine, Wrzos zwyczajny in Poland, sila virsis in Latvia, Heather in England, Heidekraut in Germany. The common heather honey plant is the only species, therefore many names of marsh heather, forest heather, mountain heather are more related to the place where common heather grows.

The common heather is an evergreen perennial, strongly branched shrub of the heather family (Ericaceae) 30-100 cm high.
The heather stems are branched, erect, the stems are completely covered with leaves, the bark of the heather stems is dark brown. When heather branches fall down, they take root easily. A new shoot emerges from the axil of a large leaf on last year's branch.
Heather leaves are small (about 2 mm long and 0.5 mm wide) and numerous; up to 75,000 leaves can be counted on one heather plant. The leaves are sessile, short, linear-lanceolate, almost trihedral, slightly grooved above, obtusely keeled below and with a deep groove, obtuse at the apex, sagittate at the base and somewhat bent down, arranged oppositely, tiled in four rows.
Heather roots are in symbiosis with fungi in the form of endomycorrhiza. The heather honey plant receives nutrients from the fungus, giving in return those that it produces, and since mushrooms live only in an acidic environment, heather grows only on acidic soil.

Heather flowers are bell-shaped, bisexual. There are 8 stamens, despite the fact that the stamen filaments are fleshy, in their lower part at the base, they are very thin. The anther has rigid appendages, which are covered with hairs, the style protrudes from the calyx; the ovary is superior; the disc-shaped nectary is located inside the corolla.
Heather flowers are very numerous, drooping, lilac, lilac-pink, sometimes white. The corolla of the heather flower is small, bell-shaped, which is cut into ⅔ of the length by 4 teeth, it is slightly zygomorphic (when the lower petal is slightly bent more than the rest of the petals), membranous, in the lower part the corolla is fleshy. At the base of the heather flower are 4 ovoid ciliated bracts.
The calyx is membranous, 4-toothed, it is about 1.5-2 times longer than the corolla, its color is identical to the corolla, shiny, lilac-pink.
Heather flowers collected in long, up to 25 cm long, one-sided, leafy racemes or solitary.
Heather fruit is a dry box, about 2 cm long, 4-celled, with 4 drop-down valves, the pericarp remains for a long time after flowering, the box is pubescent, it contains a small number of small seeds. Heather blooms in July-August, and heather fruits ripen in September. On one shoot there can be 260 - 1400 seeds. The taste of heather plants is bitter, astringent, the smell is strong.
Heather reproduces vegetatively, by rooting shoots and seeds.
A heather bush can live 40 - 50 years, heather begins to bloom at 5-7 years of age and even later.

 

Where heather grows like a honey plant

An interesting question is where the heather honey plant grows. The melliferous heather plant is widely settled throughout almost all of Eurasia, avoiding deserts and steppes. Heather can be found in North Africa, in North America, on the islands of the Atlantic Ocean. As a rule, heather forms interesting communities with other species of the genus Erica - heaths or moors. Moorlands can be both in the mountains, rising to a height of 2,500 meters, and on the plains. A few centuries ago, heather covered the Lüneburg heaths of northern Germany with a continuous carpet, and large heaths can still be found in the mountains of Scotland and Scandinavia. However, recently, moorlands have been actively destroyed in order to create pastures for other purposes. In addition to wastelands, honey heather can also form clumps up to 2 - 3 meters in diameter.
Heather, like other plants from his family, prefers acidic soils, so it often grows in swamps, including peat bogs. In addition to peat soils, honey heather grows on sandy and gravel soils, occupying the lower tier of mountain and lowland, as a rule, pine forests. Heather honey plant actively occupies open places - burnt areas and clearings. Honey heather can grow both in swamps and in dry places.

Dense thickets of heather, taking up space, transform the soil, they create a dense layer on the surface, which prevents the restoration of forests. Therefore, thickets of heather bushes can grow in one place for a long time. But in the conditions of Belarus, an aggressive invasive species has appeared - Canadian goldenrod, which is able to displace heather from its place.

In Europe, heather grows in almost the entire forest zone, from Spain and Scandinavia to the upper reaches of the Kama. In the Urals, as a rule, heather is not found. In Western Siberia, heather honey plant can be found on the riverine terraces of the Irtysh, Tobol, Ob and their numerous tributaries. As a rule, heather grows in pine forests in Western Siberia. It can be said right away that in the conditions of Siberia, heather as a honey plant is practically not used.

In Belarus, heather grows in pine forests, on swampy wet and dry sandy soils.

In Poland, heather honey plant grows on high peat bogs and in dry, young and light pine forests. On the hills and in the lowlands. Heather in Poland on the Shtetinsky Pomorie forms large clean thickets - heaths. We can say that heather is a honey plant for poor soils. 

In some countries, the heather honey plant is introduced into cultivation and is grown as a medicinal plant, and also as a honey plant, heather is grown in Germany, or rather, wild plantings of heather are cared for in order to increase the honey productivity of heather.

When the heather blooms like a honey plant

When heather blooms, the heather is a pink sea. Heather blooms for a long time from July to September.

When does heather bloom in Poland? In Poland, heather begins to bloom, usually in the second decade of August.

How much heather blooms for honey bees - the flowering period of heather lasts 3-4 weeks.

When does heather bloom in Belarus? In Belarus, heather begins to bloom, as a rule, in the third decade of July, as heather honey plant blooms until September, although the flowers continue to be visited by bees until frost.

When does heather bloom in Ukraine? In Ukraine, heather is common in the Polissya region, where heather begins to bloom, as a rule, at the end of August and heather blooms for a month, during the entire period heather as a honey plant is actively visited by bees.

Heather as a honey plant

Many beekeepers have a question, heather honey plant or not. To which we can answer that heather is a honey plant, moreover, a good one. Therefore, in some countries, heather honey plant is the main honey collection. Why, then, the question arises - heather honey plant or not? This question cannot be answered in one word. The fact is that the release of nectar by heather flowers is affected by weather, climate and a number of other factors. It should be noted that heather as a honey plant of the main honey collection, as a rule, is considered in countries with a maritime climate, these are just the countries - Great Britain, Germany, Poland, Finland. It is this climate that provides night fog in warm weather, that is, the most favorable conditions for the release of nectar by heather flowers. If we take Belarus, then only a small part of it is captured by this climate, this is part of the Grodno region, and further east and south, the climate is already changing and becoming more continental. The same can be said about the north-west of Russia, where there are also large thickets of heather, but heather honey collection is no longer considered the main one and beekeepers prefer other honey plants.
Also of great importance for the allocation of nectar by heather flowers is the presence of moisture in the soil. Heather honey plant prefers to grow on loose soils, usually sandy. Therefore, if there was no rain, the groundwater level becomes quite low, and this negatively affects the release of nectar by heather. It must be said that the heather honey productivity in the Baltic countries and Belarus is influenced by such a factor as human activity, namely the drainage of swamps. Carrying out reclamation work in Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, drained the swamps and lowered the level of groundwater, which led to the fact that in many regions the heather honey plant began to release so little nectar that the bees stopped visiting the heather.
Also, heather honey productivity is influenced by the age of plants, old heather thickets form fewer flowers and therefore produce less nectar.
Therefore, a paradoxical situation arises, heather as a honey plant is a very good plant, but only the sum of all factors can make heather a honey plant of the main honey collection. It is not for nothing that in Germany, on the vast heathlands, beekeepers take care of heather thickets, periodically trimming them and carrying out other work that contributes to a large honey flow from heather.
So the question of heather honey plant or not depends on many their factors.

It must be said that under favorable conditions, flowering heather plants are willingly visited by bees collecting nectar and pollen.

What is the peculiarity of heather as a honey plant. Heather blooms for a very long time, but as a honey plant, heather blooms are much shorter. Almost in the first week, half of the heather flowers fade, and another half of the flowers fade during the week, so the beekeeper should not be late with heather honey collection.
The importance of heather as a honey plant lies in the fact that heather blooms in August and September, in most regions there are no more honey plants during this period, so bees can use heather and prepare families for wintering. It must be said that it is impossible to leave heather honey for the winter.

 

Heather honey productivity

There are about 750 million flowers on one hectare of heather honey plant. The allocation of nectar by heather was determined in the amount of 0.48-0.58 mg per flower per day. The content of sugars in nectar is 23-24%, and is quantitatively estimated at 0.12-0.14 mg.
Heather honey productivity is about 150-200 kg per 1 ha of continuous thickets. According to some data, heather nectar productivity in Ukraine is 200-300 kg/ha, heather honey productivity in Belarus is 150 kg/ha, heather honey productivity in Poland is 5-200 kg/ha.
The weight gain of the control hive on the heather honey flow varies greatly from 2 to 10 kg per day, but often with a good heather honey flow, the weight gain is 5-6 kg per day. Strong bee colonies can easily collect 60-65 kg of marketable heather honey.

The most favorable conditions for the release of heather nectar are when heavy dew falls after a warm night, then bee colonies bring the maximum amount of heather honey.
Heather is a good honey plant - bribes from heather are more stable than, for example, from linden, clover or sweet clover. This is due to the fact that heather produces nectar at lower temperatures of 12-15 degrees and high humidity. There are seasons in the northwest of Russia and the Baltic states when the temperature does not rise too high.

heather pollen

The number of pollen grains in one heather anther is about 2000; thus, one flower releases 17,000 grains of pollen.
Pollen grains are found in tetrahedral and crossed tetrads. The length of the polar axis of individual pollen grains is 21-25 microns, the equatorial diameter is 30.6-34 microns. In outline, tetrahedral tetrads are rounded-three-lobed, 42-49 µm in diameter, crossed tetrads are rounded-four-lobed in outline, 42-54 µm in diameter. The furrows are in contact with each other, with a more pointed end directed towards the distal surface; membrane of furrows granular, pores slightly visible. The thickness of the exine is 1-1.2 µm. The sculpture is distinctly tuberculate. The texture is fine. The color of heather pollen is brown. Bees form a light gray or dark gray pollen from heather pollen. The size of the heath from the heather is quite small, about 5.8 mg. Therefore, the bees easily carry the pollen from the heather to the hive through pollen traps. As a rule, the collection of heather pollen does not exceed 20 g from one hive in 1 day and 0.5 kg of heather pollen per season. The nitrogen content of heather pollen is estimated at 4.23%. Heather pollen is very often present in other pollen, which bees bring during the late summer flow.

Heather swamp honey plant

Marsh heather is a perennial evergreen branched shrub. Heather is a good honey plant, it is not afraid of either drought or rain. It grows most often on sandy soils and peat bogs, its large massifs can be found in burnt areas and clearings. The height of the stem is from 30 to 100 cm. The marsh heather develops especially strongly. Leaves are small, lanceolate. Heather flowers are pinkish-violet, small, with a double four-dimensional perianth, collected in inflorescences (one-sided brushes). It has a specific honey smell. Blooms at the end of July.
Marsh heather is a very good autumn honey plant, it gives a productive bribe at a time when other honey plants have already faded. The bribe contributes to the cultivation of bee brood for the winter.
Marsh heather blooms in the third decade of July, and finishes flowering at the end of the second - the beginning of the third decade of August, when humidity is increased due to fogs and precipitation, which favors the release of nectar. Heather nectar also depends on the age and location of the plant. Most nectar-bearing heather at the age of 3-6 years. From the older heather (more than 8 years old), the bees collect little honey. Heather honey productivity with continuous growth from 1 ha can reach 200 kg. One bee family takes from 15 to 60 kg of honey from heather.
Heather nectar directly depends on air and soil humidity. In relatively dry years, marsh heather produces more nectar than mountain heather, and nectar from it is more stable. In rainy years, mountain heather develops well and gives much more nectar than marsh.

Heather honey collection

Heather is a good honey plant, but not all beekeepers like to take bees to the honey collection from heather. It is quite difficult to pump out the honey collected by the bees from the heather, so many beekeepers prefer not to roam the honey.
collection from heather. Nevertheless, the honey collection from the heather makes it possible to grow a new generation of bees for wintering, to obtain marketable honey. But the beekeeper needs to take into account all the conditions that are necessary for the apiary to collect a lot of honey from the heather.
Extracting heather honey is really difficult, but there are some easy ways to extract heather honey.
(Main article How to pump heather honey)

In extreme cases, you can get excellent honeycomb.

 

Heather bee honey

Heather honey from ordinary heather is dark red in color, very fragrant, slightly tart in taste, sometimes with a slight bitter taste, very viscous, poorly pumped out by a honey extractor, slowly crystallizing.

(Main article Heather honey)

 

Heather honey plant as an ornamental plant

The melliferous plant heather is very ecologically plastic, so it is possible to use heather for decorative purposes, in the widest range of ecotopes. Heather honey plant can be grown in dry ecotopes, creating low summer flowering thickets on dry sandy soils, heather can be grown for alpine slides. Heather can be grown in wet ecotopes, for example, to decorate the banks of a reservoir. To use heather honey plant as an ornamental plant, more than 20 garden decorative forms of heather have been created, these forms have different colors of leaves and flowers. Therefore, it is recommended not to plant a wild heather honey plant, but to use seeds from a flower shop. Such heather is easier to grow.

 

Heather honey plant as a medicinal plant

The therapeutic value of heather honey plant lies in the presence in its aerial part of a large number of flavonoids, saponins, catechins, tannins, phenols, resins and their derivatives, organic acids, phenocarboxylic acids, leucoanthocyanides, starch, gum, ericoline mucus, ericodinine alkaloid.
For medical use, flowering tops of shoots and heather flowers are harvested.

When to harvest heather as a medicinal plant? Heather is harvested in June-August, the cut parts of the heather are dried in the open air under sheds or in well-ventilated rooms.
Heather grass has antibacterial, diaphoretic, diuretic, anti-inflammatory, astringent, expectorant, moderately hypotensive, hypnotic, sedative, hemostatic, wound healing and anti-acid effects.
Official medicine heather as part of preparations is used in European countries.
heather is much more widely used in folk medicine, which covers almost the whole of Europe.

An infusion of heather herb is used for dropsy, colds, neurasthenia, and especially for kidney stones. Heather is included in a mixture of herbs used in catarrh of the stomach with high acidity. Heather honey plant is taken for inflammation of the bladder and urinary tract, rheumatism and gout.

 

Another use of heather honey plant

Heather honey plant also has other uses, for example, heather can be used as a dye and tanning plant. Heather flowers can be used to make tea, as well as to add flavor to wine, tincture, liqueur. Also, honey heather is important as a fodder plant, it is ground into flour rich in protein.