Wikimedia Commons
Lamiaceae
Scarlet Bee Balm
Monarda didyma
Compassion, protection, sympathy.
- Family
- Lamiaceae
- Genus
- Monarda
- Native to
- Eastern North America
- Bloom season
- Summer
- Type
- Perennial
- Height
- 60–120 cm (2–4 ft)
- Sunlight
- Full sun to part shade
- Soil
- Moist, rich, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate to high
- Hardiness
- 4–9
- Lifespan
- Long-lived perennial
Did you know
- After the Boston Tea Party, American colonists brewed Monarda leaves as 'Oswego tea'—a patriotic substitute for boycotted British black tea, taught to them by the Oswego people of New York.
- The blooms are one of the very few flowers shaped specifically to be pollinated by ruby-throated hummingbirds, whose bills perfectly match the long red tubes.
- Crushed leaves smell like a cross between mint and oregano—the plant is rich in thymol, a natural antiseptic also found in thyme.
- Named for Spanish botanist Nicolás Monardes, who in 1574 wrote one of the first European books on New World plants—without ever leaving Seville.
- Bee balm is an essential ingredient in Earl Grey-style herbal teas and was used by the Oswego, Iroquois, and Cherokee to treat colds, fevers, and bronchial complaints.
Color meanings
0
compassion
1
wild beauty
2
healing