Rosemary

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) is a plant typical of Mediterranean coastal regions, where it grows in the wild; however, there are numerous horticultural varieties that are more hardy and can adapt to lower temperatures.

Rosemary therefore thrives very well in Valais, where it is cultivated as an aromatic and culinary plant, provided that young plants are protected from severe frost.

The flowering period of rosemary is long, extending over several months; depending on climatic conditions, it is not uncommon to see it flowering as early as October and then throughout the winter, sometimes with a pause during January, depending on temperatures.

Rosemary is a shrub belonging to the Lamiaceae family, reaching 50–150 cm in height and a similar diameter. Its stems are highly branched and strongly woody; its dark green leaves are narrow and pointed, resembling small conifer needles. The blue-violet flowers have a shape well suited to visits by pollinating insects: the lower petal is larger and serves as a landing platform, while the two stamens located above are slightly curved forward, facilitating the deposition of pollen on the backs of foragers.

The flowers produce abundant and highly concentrated nectar even in winter; foraging bees also find greyish pollen there. Rosemary thus constitutes a good food source at the time when egg laying resumes, provided of course that temperatures are sufficiently high to allow bees to fly. As flowering continues during the first months of the year, rosemary nectar enriches spring honey; in Mediterranean countries it gives rise to a very aromatic, almost white monofloral honey.

A tip for beekeepers: a few dried sprigs of rosemary added to the fuel or tobacco of the smoker give the smoke a pleasant scent.

Sources

J. Piquée, Melliferous plants month by month, 2014

T. Silberfeld, C. Reeb, Melliferous plants, 2016