5.2 Perennials

ANNUALS AND BIENNIALS
Linum usitatissimum L.
flax, annual flax, linseed, lin
ann. Jun-Jul 40-80 cm NP
Value for honey: HP1 16 ; N sugar concentration of 26-49
were reported foraging on a 40 ha flax field while sw
blooming nearby 72; petals tend to drop in the afternoon, so
only 35 ; usually agreed that it has feeble attraction for honey
Value for pollen: cross pollination by bees is necessary a
total yield 7z; P load is blue.
Notes: commercially cultivated for its seed, the source of
stock feed) and flax fiber (for the linen industry); attractiv
from cultivation in much of N. America.
Lobularia maritima (L.) Desv.
(syn. Alyssum maritimum (L.) Lam.)
sweet alyssum, alysse maritime, alysse adorante
per. (usually grown as an ann. in Canada) Jun-frost
Value for honey: favoured by bees for N 35 ; very long bloo
Notes: honey scented flowers; popular edging plant and
summer may assist in producing good late bloom; often
spontaneous, N.E. 23 .
Medicago lupulinas L.
black medick, hop clover, yellow trefoil, none-such, lupuline
ann. bienn. hardiness dependent on cv. Jun-Sep
Value for honey: HP1/2 16 ; freely visited for N (e.g. in
earlier than white or red clover; said to be of little v
naturalized (parts of the Pacific Northwest, such as Ore. an
drought and continue yielding 72 .
Notes: may be suitable in a seed mix for roadsides or wa
soils; a fodder plant.
Melilotus Mill. (see individual spp. for more detail)
sweet clover, melilot, vieux garcons
ann. bienn. hardiness dependent on cv. Jun-Sep
Value for honey: HP4/6 16; both M. alba (white swee
(yellow sweet clover) are major H sources in w. Canada
beekeepers in many other areas 50 years ago (e.g. Ont. an
sweet clover acreage in Ont. partly explains the decline in
period 16,88. Crops such as alfalfa have replaced the acreage