Sulla (French honeysuckle)
Sulla (Hedysarum coronarium) is a Mediterranean forage legume with crimson flower spikes, valued for hay and for honey production.
Sulla (Hedysarum coronarium, also Sulla coronaria) is a biennial or short-lived perennial legume grown for forage around the Mediterranean. It stands 30–150 cm tall on thick, juicy stems, and its racemes carry 10 to 35 small flowers from light pink to crimson.
The plant comes from the western Mediterranean and North Africa and was domesticated only in the 18th century, in southern Italy and Sicily. In the late 1990s Italy grew about 300,000 ha of it, some 80,000 in Sicily. Wild and sown stands also exist in Spain, Portugal, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco, and it has been taken to New Zealand and Australia, where it needs its own root bacterium, Rhizobium sullae.
Feedipedia, the feed database run with FAO, notes that sulla is valued for honey production; most sulla honey comes from Italy, with smaller amounts from Spain and France.
Why this matters to you: hay is best cut at about 10 % flowering, so where farmers mow early the bees lose most of the bloom.
Facts
| Botanical origin | Hedysarum coronarium L. (syn. Sulla coronaria), legume family (Fabaceae) |
|---|---|
| Region | Western Mediterranean and North Africa; mainly southern Italy and Sicily, also Spain, Portugal, Maghreb |
| Colour | Light pink to bright red and crimson |
How it connects to Honey & beekeeping
Sulla (French honeysuckle) → kind of → Honey plants → kind of → 🍯 Honey
Links
- Part of
- Honey plants
- Which honey it gives
- Sulla honey
Frequently asked questions
What is sulla?
A biennial or short-lived perennial forage legume of the Mediterranean, used for grazing, hay and silage.
Where is sulla grown?
Mainly in southern Italy and Sicily, also in Spain, Portugal, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco; it was introduced to New Zealand and Australia.
Is it true that sulla is the same plant as sainfoin?
No. It is sometimes called Italian or Spanish sainfoin, but sulla is Hedysarum, while sainfoin is Onobrychis.
Do beekeepers value sulla?
Yes. It is valued for honey production and listed as a unifloral honey source, chiefly in Italy.
What colour are sulla flowers?
From light pink to bright red and crimson, 10 to 35 per raceme.
Similar
Black locust · Rapeseed · Sweet chestnut · Heather (ling) · Lavender · Rosemary
Sources
- Heuzé V., Tran G., Lebas F. (2016) Sulla (Hedysarum coronarium). Feedipedia, a programme by INRAE, CIRAD, AFZ and FAO
- Persano Oddo L. et al. (2004) Botanical species giving unifloral honey in Europe. Apidologie 35, S82-S93