Plant that has been in flower throughout the year?

[Bcrazy]

Has anyone noticed the common white dead Nettle as it has been in flower continually since February this year and is still showing fruit. Bee and Bumbles use this plant as a source of nectar and pollen. Note the trigger on the upper petal of the flower. The petal is concave shape because its it way of protecting the pollen underneath.
Top photo are pollen grains not stained.
Next is the flower from underneath showing the anthers with the pollen attached.
Finally the trigger when the bee enters for nectar the trigger lowers the anthers on to the back of the bee.

Mo

 

[Headnavigator]

Interesting, B. When I was a kid we used to love the dead nettles and pinch each flower out to suck on the bottom of it, if we were lucky we got a faint sweet taste of nectar. Talk about stealing from the bees! Have had a fondness for them ever since, and yes, they do seem to have an extraordinary long season this year.

 

[louiseww]

Last weekend on Eastbourne Seafront there were lots of plants in flower with honey bees and other pollinators very busy on them. The one that was the most significant was Rosemary because the bees were covered in pollen.