Bees & "Weeds"

You will notice in the long list of bee-attractive plants that we found several species of weeds that provided pollen and nectar for urban bees. The most attractive weed species were Picris echioides and Taraxacum sp. (Asteraceae), Lotus corniculatus and Trifolium repens (Fabaceae), and misc. Brassicaceae. We do not recommend that you plant or even encourage these weedy species in your garden, but if they occur there it is worthwhile to observe them to see if they are attracting bee visitors. There is plenty of time to remove them before they set seeds. We have found some of them, especially P. echioides, L. corniculatus and misc. Brassicaceae, to be highly attractive to native bees in some gardens. Keep in mind that weed for humans may well be a good pollen and nectar sources for bees.