Monarda didyma (Bergamot)

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Monarda didyma L.

Bergamot, scarlet beebalm, scarlet monarda, Oswego tea, crimson beebalm

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Asteridae	A large class that encompasses asters
Order	Lamiales	Aromatic herbs and shrubs, including lavender, lilac, olive, jasmine, ash, teak, snapdragon, sesame, psyllium, garden sage, mint, basil, and rosemary
Family	Lamiaceae	Mint family
Genus	Monarda	Bee balms or bergamots
Species	didyma

About plant names...

Scarlet beebalm is native to eastern North America. The common name bergamot stems from the plant's odor, which resembles that of bergamot orange. (The bergamot flavoring used in Earl Grey Tea comes from the bergamot orange.)

Identification: These members of the mint family sport the kinds of flowers I expect to find in exotic tropical plants, not in New England. They are brilliant red, a disk of individual 1-1½" (3-4 cm) tube-shaped flowers pointing outward from the center, a perfect hummingbird feeding station. (Cultivars also appear in rose, pink, violet, and white.) Flowering is from July to August. Plants are up to 28-59" (70-150 cm) high, with square stems. Leaves are opposite, oval, dark green with reddish leaf veins, 2-6" (6-15 cm) × 1-3" (3-8 cm).

Online References:

Missouriplants.com

Illinois Wildflowers

The Vanderbilt University Bioimages web site

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Wikipedia

Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants

Floridata.com

Botanical.com

7/6/2013 · Mike and Ellen’s, Shohola, Pennsylvania
≈ 7 × 4½" (16 × 11 cm)

7/10/2013 · Beaver Brook Assn Conservation Lands, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hampshire
≈ 8 × 6" (20 × 14 cm)

7/24/2010 · Acton Arboretum, Acton, Massachusetts
≈ 9 × 12" (23 × 30 cm) ID is uncertain

7/6/2013 · Mike and Ellen’s, Shohola, Pennsylvania
≈ 10 × 7" (25 × 16 cm)

A cultivar. · 7/14/2012 · Gordon and Kathy’s, Prospect, Maine
≈ 4½ × 4½" (11 × 11 cm) ID is uncertain

7/6/2013 · Mike and Ellen’s, Shohola, Pennsylvania
≈ 9 × 6" (22 × 15 cm)

7/10/2013 · Beaver Brook Assn Conservation Lands, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hampshire
≈ 6 × 8" (14 × 20 cm)

Monarda didyma description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 25 May 2020.

7/24/2010 · Acton Arboretum, Acton, Massachusetts
≈ 7 × 6" (18 × 16 cm) ID is uncertain

7/10/2013 · Beaver Brook Assn Conservation Lands, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hampshire
≈ 8 × 5" (19 × 13 cm)

7/23/2015 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hampshire
≈ 6 × 6" (15 × 14 cm)

I was surprised to see these two flowerheads, here gone mostly to seed, on the same stem. · 8/5/2019 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Wildflower Trail, Hollis, New Hampshire
≈ 4½ × 6" (12 × 16 cm)

7/6/2013 · Mike and Ellen’s, Shohola, Pennsylvania
≈ 9 × 6" (23 × 16 cm)

A cultivar. · 7/14/2012 · Gordon and Kathy’s, Prospect, Maine
≈ 5 × 7" (13 × 17 cm) ID is uncertain

7/23/2015 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hampshire
≈ 8 × 6" (20 × 14 cm)

7/6/2013 · Mike and Ellen’s, Shohola, Pennsylvania
≈ 7 × 4½" (18 × 12 cm)

7/10/2013 · Beaver Brook Assn Conservation Lands, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hampshire
≈ 9 × 6" (23 × 16 cm)

Range: Zones 4-9:

About this map...