Monarda didyma

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Asterids
Cladus: Lamiids
Ordo: Lamiales

Familia: Lamiaceae
Subfamilia: Nepetoideae
Tribus: Mentheae
Subtribus: Menthinae
Genus: Monarda
Species: Monarda didyma
Name

Monarda didyma L., 1753
Synonyms

Heterotypic
Monarda purpurea Lam., Encycl. 4: 256 (1797).
Monarda coccinea Michx., Fl. Bor.-Amer. 1: 16 (1803).
Monarda didynama Stokes, Bot. Mat. Med. 1: 44 (1812), orth. var.
Monarda kalmiana Pursh, Fl. Amer. Sept. 1: 17 (1813).
Monarda oswegoensis W.P.C.Barton, Fl. Philadelph. Prodr. 1: 34 (1815).
Monarda didyma var. angustifolia Torr., Fl. N. Middle United States 1: 25 (1824).
Monarda purpurascens Wender., Index Seminum (MB, Marburgensis) 1828: [4] (1828).
Monarda contorta C.Morren, Belgique Hort. 1: 37 (1851).

Distribution
Native distribution areas:
Monarda didyma

Continental: Northern America
Regional:Eastern USA
Alabama, Connecticut, Georgia, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia
Regional: Canada
Ontario
Introduced into:
Austria, Central European Rus, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References
Primary references

Linnaeus, C. 1753. Species Plantarum. Tomus I: 22. Reference page.

Additional references

Govaerts, R.H.A. 2003. World Checklist of Selected Plant Families Database in ACCESS: 1-216203. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. [unavailable for the public] Reference page.
Mohlenbrock, R.H. (2014). Vascular Flora of Illinois. A Field Guide, ed. 4: 1-536. Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2022. Monarda didyma in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2022 Apr 25. Reference page.
Hassler, M. 2022. Monarda didyma. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2022. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published online. Accessed: 2022 Apr 25. Reference page.
Tropicos.org 2022. Monarda didyma. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 25 Apr 2022.
International Plant Names Index. 2022. Monarda didyma. Published online. Accessed: Apr 25 2022.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Monarda didyma in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service.

Vernacular names
Deutsch: Indianernessel, Goldmelisse
suomi: Punaväriminttu
magyar: Vörös méhbalzsam, bíbor ápolka, bergamott

Monarda didyma, the crimson beebalm, scarlet beebalm, scarlet monarda, Eau-de-Cologne plant, Oswego tea, or bergamot, is an aromatic herb in the family Lamiaceae, native to eastern North America from Maine west to Ontario and Minnesota, and south to northern Georgia.[1][2][3] Its odor is considered similar to that of the bergamot orange (used to flavor Earl Grey tea). The genus name comes from Nicolas Monardes, who described the first American flora in 1569.[4]
Monarda didyma seed head

Description

M. didyma is a perennial plant that grows to 0.6-1.2 m in height and spreads 0.4-0.6 m. The 7–18 cm long, ovate to ovate-lanceolate leaves with serrate margins are medium to deep green, placed opposite on square, hollow stems. The leaves are minty fragrant when crushed. It has ragged, bright red tubular flowers 3–4 cm long, borne on showy heads of about 30 together, with reddish bracts. It grows in dense clusters along stream banks, moist thickets, and ditches, blooming for about 8 weeks from early/mid to late summer.[5]
Ecology

This plants attracts hummingbirds and is a larval host to the hermit sphinx, orange mint moth, and the raspberry pyrausta.[6]
Cultivation and uses

Crimson beebalm is extensively grown as an ornamental plant, both within and outside its native range; it is naturalized further west in the United States and also in parts of Europe and Asia. It grows best in full sun, but tolerates light shade and thrives in any moist, but well-drained soil. Several cultivars have been selected for different flower color, ranging from white through pink to dark red and purple.[7]

Beebalm has a long history of use as a medicinal plant by many Native Americans, including the Blackfoot. The Blackfoot people recognized this plant's strong antiseptic action, and used poultices of the plant for skin infections and minor wounds.[8] An herbal tea made from the plant was also used to treat mouth and throat infections caused by dental caries and gingivitis. Beebalm is a natural source of the antiseptic thymol, the primary active ingredient in modern commercial mouthwash formulas. The Winnebago used an herbal tea made from beebalm as a general stimulant. It was also used as a carminative herb by Native Americans to treat excessive flatulence.[9][10] The Native Americans of Oswego, New York, made the leaves into a tea, giving the plant one of its common names.[11]
Monarda didyma
References

"Monarda didyma". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
"Monarda didyma". County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2013.
USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Monarda didyma". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team.
"Monarda didyma". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 2 January 2018.
"Monarda didyma". Plant Finder. Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
The Xerces Society (2016), Gardening for Butterflies: How You Can Attract and Protect Beautiful, Beneficial Insects, Timber Press.
Blanchan, Neltje (2005). Wild Flowers Worth Knowing. Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.
"Restoring wildlife habitat and traditional plants with the Oneida Nation | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Midwest Region".
Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West, Gregory L. Tilford, ISBN 0-87842-359-1
Pink, A. (2004). Gardening for the Million. Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.
Niering, William A.; Olmstead, Nancy C. (1985) [1979]. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, Eastern Region. Knopf. p. 575. ISBN 0-394-50432-1.