English: Wild bergamot; Bee balm.
Region: widespread, North America.
Habitat: rich, limy soils; dry fields, thickets, clearings, usually on soil.
Content: p-cymene, carvacrol, thymol; an aliphatic aldehyde; methyl ether of carvacrol, α-pinene, β-pinene, sabinene hydrate, α-terpinene, citronellyl acetate, and β-caryophyllene.
Use: honey plant; medicinal; ornamental; fragrance; oil of thyme; hair pomade; Insect repellant.
BotanyHerb; perennial; occurring in large clumps; ± m tall.
Root: slender creeping rhizomes.
Stem: few erect branches.
Leaves: 5 to 8 cm long; lance-shaped; toothed.
Inflorescence: compact flower clusters; solitary at the ends of branches; 4 cm long; with 20 to 50 flowers.
Flowers: showy; pink to lavender; blooming from June to September.
Pollination: by bees, hummingbirds, lepidoptera.
Ecology: larval host to the hermit sphinx, orange mint moth, and raspberry pyrausta.
TaxonomyMonarda fistulosa has several varieties, also treated as subspecies or as distinct species. Some of the varieties are geographically widespread
Literaturehttps://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Monarda+fistulosa