''Monarda didyma'', the crimson beebalm, scarlet beebalm, scarlet monarda, Eau-de-Cologne plant, Oswego tea, or bergamot, is a North American aromatic
herb
Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distingu ...
in the family
Lamiaceae
The Lamiaceae ( )
or Labiatae are a family (biology), family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle, or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil (herb), ba ...
.
Description
''M. didyma'' is a
perennial plant
In horticulture, the term perennial (''wikt:per-#Prefix, per-'' + ''wikt:-ennial#Suffix, -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annual plant, annuals and biennial plant, biennials. It has thus been d ...
that grows to in height and spreads . The medium to deep green
leaves
A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...
are long, shaped ovate to ovate-lanceolate, with serrate margins, placed opposite on square, hollow stems. The leaves are minty fragrant when crushed.
The plant's odor is similar to that of the
bergamot orange
''Citrus bergamia'', the bergamot orange (pronounced ), is a fragrant citrus fruit the size of an orange, with a yellow or green colour similar to a lime, depending on ripeness.
Genetic research into the ancestral origins of extant citrus cul ...
(used to flavor
Earl Grey tea
Earl Grey tea is a Tea blending and additives, tea blend which has been flavoured with Bergamot essential oil, oil of bergamot. The rind's fragrant oil is added to black tea to give Earl Grey its unique taste. However, many, if not most, Earl Gr ...
).
The bright and red flowers are ragged, tubular and long, borne on showy heads of about 30 together, with reddish
bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale.
Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also lo ...
s. It grows in dense clusters along stream banks, moist thickets, and ditches, blooming for about 8 weeks from early to late summer.
Taxonomy
The genus name comes from
Nicolas Monardes, the first European to describe the American flora, in 1569.
Distribution and habitat
The species is native to eastern
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
from
Maine
Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...
west to
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
and
Michigan
Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
, and south to northern
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
, and introduced in other states farther west.
Ecology
This plants attracts hummingbirds and is a larval host to the
hermit sphinx,
raspberry pyrausta, and
orange mint moth.
Uses
Crimson beebalm is extensively grown as an
ornamental plant
Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...
, both within and outside its native range; it is
naturalized
Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...
further west in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and also in parts of
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
and
Asia
Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
. It grows best in full sun, but tolerates light shade and thrives in any moist, but well-drained soil. Several
cultivar
A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...
s have been selected for different flower color, ranging from white through pink to dark red and purple.
Beebalm has a long history of use as a medicinal plant by many Native Americans, including the
Blackfoot. The Blackfoot people recognized this plant's strong antiseptic action, and used poultices of the plant for skin infections and minor wounds. An
herbal tea
Herbal teas, technically known as herbal infusions, and less commonly called tisanes (UK and US , US also ), are beverages made from the infusion or decoction of herbs, spices, or other plant material in hot water. Often herb tea, or the plai ...
made from the plant was also used to treat mouth and throat infections caused by dental
caries
Tooth decay, also known as caries,The word 'caries' is a mass noun, and is not a plural of 'carie'.'' is the breakdown of teeth due to acids produced by bacteria. The resulting cavities may be a number of different colors, from yellow to black ...
and
gingivitis. Beebalm is a natural source of the antiseptic
thymol
Thymol (also known as 2-isopropyl-5-methylphenol, IPMP), , is a toxic monoterpenoid phenol derivative of ''p''-Cymene, isomeric with carvacrol. It occurs naturally in the oil of thyme, and it is extracted from ''Thymus vulgaris'' (common thy ...
, the primary active ingredient in modern commercial
mouthwash formulas. The
Winnebago used an herbal tea made from beebalm as a general stimulant. It was also used as a
carminative herb by Native Americans to treat excessive flatulence. The Native Americans of
Oswego, New York, made the leaves into a tea, giving the plant one of its common names.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q164010
didyma
Didyma (; ) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek sanctuary on the coast of Ionia in the domain of the famous city of Miletus. Apollo was the main deity of the sanctuary of Didyma, also called ''Didymaion''. But it was home to both of the Ancient ...
Flora of the Eastern United States
Flora of Eastern Canada
Plants described in 1753
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus