Purple Bergamot, Monarda media
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
purple-tinged bracts (leaf-like structures below the flowers).
Flowers themselves are deep violet, long narrow tubes split into
two lips at end. Stamens follow the upper lip and protrude
at top. Very showy. Blooms in summer. Native plant of rich moist soil. Formerly rare in Wildwood in the floodplain of Connelly's Run, but may have been extirpated in the creation of the butterfly gardens. The showy, violet flower heads are distinctive. Other members of the genus Monarda have similar flower heads of other colors: red in bee balm, lilac in wild bergamot, and white in basil balm.
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