Bee Balm or Oswego Tea,
Monarda didyma
Lamiaceae or Mint Family
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Upright plant, about 2-3 feet tall. Leaves
in pairs opposite each other, roughly oval, longer than wide and
pointed. Flowers from dense hemispherical heads above dark
red bracts (leaf-like structures below the flowers).
Flowers themselves are deep red, long narrow tubes split into
two lips at end. Stamens follow the upper lip and protrude
at top. Very showy. An old-fashioned garden favorite, native of the eastern United States. In Wildwood, however, it is not native and persists from specimens planted in the butterfly meadows. The showy, scarlet flower heads are distinctive. Other members of the genus Monarda have similar flowers heads of other colors: deep purple in purple bergamot, lilac in wild bergamot, and white in basil balm. |
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