Monarda rigida Raf.
Monarda villosa M. Martens
Monarda bradburiana Beck
Wild bergamot, bee balm, eastern beebalm
Beebalm is so attractive to bees and butterflies that it is hard to photograph the flowers without their adoring visitors.
Plants: 12–24″ (30–60 cm) plants have square, sparsely branched flower stems. Stems are hairless, or have a few scattered hairs.
Leaves: Oblong, opposite toothed leaves are gray-green in color. They smell a bit like oregano. They are up to 3½ ⨉ 1¾″ (9 ⨉ 5 cm) long, and sessile. Upper leaf surfaces typically have fine hairs.
Flowers: Dome-shaped flowerheads 1½–3″ (3.8–7.6 cm) in diameter appear atop stems, resting on a nest of leafy bracts. Each flowerhead contains a spray of unscented, pinkish to whitish, purple-spotted florets. Each floret is about 1″ (2.5 cm) long, and narrowly tubular in shape, with two lips. Florets appear first on the top, progressing down to the edges of the hemisphere. The corolla is white or pink, with purple dots on the lower lip, and white hairs on the upper lip. The calyx of each flower is tubular and hairy, with 5 pointed lobes at its tip. Flowers appear from April to May.
Fruits: Nutlets, dispersed somewhat by wind.
Habitats: Mesic, acidic soils in open, rocky woods.
Online References:
Monarda fistulosa Sims， nom. inq.
Monarda rigida Raf.
Monarda villosa M. Martens
Monarda rigida Raf.
Monarda villosa M. Martens
7/31/2016 · Skyline Drive, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia · ≈ 8 × 6″ (20 × 15 cm) 
7/3/2023 · Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania 
The moth is a hummingbird clearwing, Hemaris thysbe. · 7/31/2016 · Skyline Drive, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia 
7/20/2013 · Wooden Bridge, East Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 9 × 6″ (23 × 16 cm) 
That’s an eastern black swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes asterius). · 7/31/2016 · Skyline Drive, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia 
The visitors is an eastern tiger swallowtail (Papilio glaucus). · 7/31/2016 · Skyline Drive, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia 
The moth is a hummingbird clearwing, Hemaris thysbe. · 7/31/2016 · Skyline Drive, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia 
The visitors is an eastern tiger swallowtail (Papilio glaucus). · 7/31/2016 · Skyline Drive, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia · ≈ 1½ × 1′ (52 × 34 cm) 
7/20/2013 · Wooden Bridge, East Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 12 × 8″ (31 × 21 cm) 
7/20/2013 · Wooden Bridge, East Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 11 × 7″ (28 × 18 cm) 
The visitors is an eastern tiger swallowtail (Papilio glaucus). · 7/31/2016 · Skyline Drive, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia · ≈ 9 × 7″ (23 × 19 cm) 
7/31/2016 · Skyline Drive, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia 
6/15/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts · ≈ 1½ × 1′ (52 × 34 cm) 
ID is uncertain 
7/20/2013 · Wooden Bridge, East Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 3½ × 3½″ (9.2 × 9.6 cm) 
That’s an eastern black swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes asterius). · 7/31/2016 · Skyline Drive, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia 
The visitors is an eastern tiger swallowtail (Papilio glaucus). · 7/31/2016 · Skyline Drive, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia · ≈ 7 × 6″ (18 × 16 cm) 
7/31/2016 · Skyline Drive, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia 
The visitors is an eastern tiger swallowtail (Papilio glaucus). · 7/31/2016 · Skyline Drive, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia 
7/23/2014 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hampshire · ≈ 4 × 4½″ (11 × 11 cm) 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| 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 | bradburiana | For an unknown person named Bradbury |
Monarda bradburiana description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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