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Lamiaceae
Bee Balm
Monarda didyma
Compassion, protection, hospitality.
- Family
- Lamiaceae
- Genus
- Monarda
- Native to
- Eastern North America
- Bloom season
- Summer
- Type
- herbaceous perennial
- Height
- 60–120 cm
- Sunlight
- Full sun to partial shade
- Soil
- Rich, moist, well-drained
- Water
- Regular
- Hardiness
- 4–9
- Lifespan
- Perennial
Did you know
- Bee balm is also called Oswego tea — Oswego people of New York taught American colonists to brew its leaves into tea, especially after the Boston Tea Party.
- The leaves smell strongly of bergamot orange — Monarda didyma is sometimes called 'wild bergamot,' though it's unrelated to the citrus.
- Hummingbirds are the chief pollinators of red bee balm, attracted by the long tubular flowers full of nectar.
- Native Americans used the plant medicinally for colds, sore throats, and as an antiseptic for wounds.
- Monarda is named after Nicolás Monardes, a 16th-century Spanish physician who wrote one of the first books about American plants in Europe.