Echium

Common bruise is a biennial plant 30-100 cm high. In the first year, a dense rezeta of elongated leaves is formed. Leaves are oblong-lanceolate. Corolla is blue-violet, funnel-shaped. Blooms in the second year in June – September. Duration of flowering is 50 – 60 days. The bruise can be found in the steppe open spaces and rocky places, in dry meadows, near roads, muddy places near houses, and crops in the fields.
Distributed in the territories of Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Moldova, etc. Common bruise is an excellent honey plant. The bees work on it all day. A bruise develops 850-1500 flowers on one stem. One flower releases 7-16 mg. nectar, and functions for two days. A very important feature of the structure of bruise flowers is that nectar is not evaporated from them and is not washed out, so little workers work on it from morning to evening. In good weather conditions, a bruise can yield 6 – 8 kg of honey per bee colony. High quality bruise honey, light amber color, with a wonderful smell, pleasant taste, does not crystallize for a long time. In addition to nectar, bees collect dark blue pollen from the bruise. The bruise is very unpretentious to the soil, but grows better on those that contain lime. It is recommended to sow it near apiaries. Usually a bruise is sown nearby apiaries, on any waste, uncultivated soils. The seeding rate of seeds is 4-5 kg ​​/ ha, the seeding depth is up to 1 cm. Seeds are sown in spring or autumn before frosts, but seeds sown in early spring germinate better. Seeds are grayish – green, in 1 g up to 280 pcs. Germination is maintained for at least 3 years.