5.2 Perennials

52
PERENNIALS
Liatris pychnostchya Michx.
Kansas gayfeather, blazing star
per. -37° to -29° C Jul-Sep 90-120 cm N 72
Notes: purple flower heads in a dense terminal spike; striking appearance; damp prairies
Wisc. and S. beyond Can. range 23 .
Liatris spicata (L.) Wild.
spike gayfeather, blazing star
per. -37° to -29° C Sep 30 cm N 72
Value for honey: a useful late source.
Notes: grows well in dry soil; purple flowers in clusters about 50 cm long; meadows,
borders of marshes, damp shores sw. Ont., Mich., Wisc. and cultivated locally and
naturalized in s.N.E. 23 .
Limonium latifolium (Sm.) 0. Kuntze
statice latifolia, wide leaf sea lavender, marsh rosemary, statice a larges feuilles
per. -37° to -29° C Jul-Sep 75 cm N
Value for honey: said to be attractive for N; beekeepers report surplus H from L.
vulgare Mill. (sea lavender, HP2 16) and L. carolinianum (Walt.) Britt. 72 .
Honey: is light in colour and pleasantly flavoured, but mild 72 .
Notes: an outstanding per. for the border, bright mauve flowers in feathery panicles;
popular for use in dried arrangements.
Linum flavum L.
golden flax, yellow flax, lin jaune
per. -23° to -21° C late Jun-mid Aug 30 cm NP
Value for honey: similar to L. usitatissimum L. (flax) 35 .
Notes: yellow flowers; not permanent in Ottawa; requires full sun.
Linum perenne L.
perennial flax, lin
per. -29° to -23° C Jun-Sep 30 cm NP
Value for honey: similar to L. usitatissimum L. (flax) 35
Notes: popular border plant; deep blue flowers in a much-branched panicle; prefers full
sun.
Lotus corniculatus L.
bird's foot trefoil, bacon and eggs, pied de poule, corvette lotier, lotier corniculd
per. Jun-Aug 60 cm NP
Value for honey: HP2 16 ; H yields of 45 kg/colony/season 50; N sugar concentration 14-
41% 17; has been observed to be more attractive than Melilotus (sweet clover) on
occasion 72; some doubt regarding value as a N source in Ont., but observation of test
hives in Guelph, Ont. suggest that it is a major producer in Jul-Aug l .
Value for pollen: load is light gray to light brown 17 .
Honey: light greenish in colour, classed as white; granulates rapidly; heavy body;
flavour like clover 17 .
Notes: flowers about 2 weeks before white clover, grown as a crop for pasture or hay;
may be suitable for roadsides, as a ground cover or planting in waste land for bee
forage; flowers yellow tinged with red; fields roadsides and waste land, locally Nfld. to
Minn., and S. beyond Can. limits23.