5.2 Perennials

66
PERENNIALS
Trifolium repens L.
white clover, white Dutch clover, Dutch clover, trefle blanc
per. -37° to -29° C Jun-Sep 10 cm NP
Value for honey: HP3/4 16; H yield 27-90 kg/colony/season 17 ; N sugar concentration
up to 64% 17 ; N flow heaviest in season following a year of excessive rain 72; N
secretion best if soil is moist, air temperatures high, but less than 24°C and night
temperatures less than 18°C, and on limestone soils ' 5 ; in B.C. T. repens is claimed not
to yield unless temperatures are 24°C or over' ; N secretion is low on muck, sandy or
lime-deficient soil and during periods of high humidity 17 ; N sugar concentration was
increased with the addition of boron to the soi1 54 (application rate not indicated).
N flow starts 10 days after the flowering begins and ceases toward the end of the
blooming period 35 ; valuable to the beekeeper because it supplies a small amount of N
over a long period".
Intermediate and small type cvs. are considered to be more attractive to
honeybees than the larger forms. For instance, Ladino clover (T. repens L. Forma
lodigense Hort. ex Gams) a large form of white clover, is apparently a poor N and P
source in some areas 54' 94 ; see Trifolium.
Honey: bright yellow and clear; classed as extra-light amber to white; granulates rapidly
with a slightly coarse grain (some observers disagree and contend that it granulates
slowly with a fine smooth grain); flavour is mild and sweet 17.
Notes: a crop plant that maintains itself in a mix with Kentucky blue grass, unlike most
spp. which are easily crowded out; may be suitable for inclusion in a roadside mixture;
sometimes grown as an ann.; grasslands, roadsides and open pastures and woods
throughout Canada 23 ; see Trifolium.
Trillium L.
wake robin, birthroot, trillium, trille
per. Jun 10-45 cm
Value for pollen: minor importance where it is naturalized in woodlands and wild
gardens.
Tulipa kaufmanniana Regel
water lily tulip
per. (bulb) -29° to -23° C Apr-Jun 15-25 cm (N)P
Value for honey: N sugar concentration of most tulips is low (approx. 5%) 8, but it
may become more concentrated through evaporation in the open exposed blossom of the
tulip; concentrated tulip N has been implicated in an occasional report of bee mortality,
due to a large proportion of toxic sugars 8 ; see Section 10.
Value for pollen: is sometimes attractive to bees for P; other single tulip spp. are also
visited.
Valeriana officinalis L.
(syn. Valeriana excelsa Poir.)
garden heliotrope, common valerian, corn salad, lamb's lettuce, heal all, herbe a la
femme meurtrie, valerian, herbe aux chats
per. -37° to -29° C Jul-early Aug 120 cm N 36
Notes: commercially grown for its roots which are used medicinally (dried rhizomes
yield valerian); clusters of whitish-pink to lavender flowers with a weedy appearance;
McCutcheon, D. (1986). Personal communication.