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Wild Bergamot

Monarda fistulosa, the wild bergamot or bee balm, is a wildflower in the mint family Lamiaceae, widespread and abundant as a native plant in much of North America. This plant, with showy summer-blooming pink to lavender flowers, is often used as a honey plant, medicinal plant, and garden ornamental. The species is quite variable, and several subspecies or varieties have been recognized within it. Despite its name, it has no relation to the 'true' bergamot, a citrus fruit.

From Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

Research Mentions

PubMed → · research article

Bloom timing shapes how a bumblebee gut parasite spreads between flowers

The wild bergamot blooming in your pollinator garden isn't just pretty - when it peaks relative t...

iNaturalist → · observation

wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) observed in Franklin County, KY, USA

Wild bergamot is one of the best native plants you can add to a sunny garden border — it blooms m...

iNaturalist → · observation

Wild bergamot is blooming everywhere and pollinators are noticing

If you've got a patch of dry, sunny ground you don't know what to do with, wild bergamot fills it...

iNaturalist → · observation

wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) observed in Tennessee, US

Wild bergamot growing in Tennessee roadsides and meadows is a magnet for native bees, hummingbird...

iNaturalist → · observation

Wild bergamot is blooming everywhere right now, and people are noticing

If you've got bees, hummingbirds, or swallowtails visiting your yard this week, wild bergamot's l...

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Taxonomy

Scientific: Monarda fistulosa
Genus: Monarda
Kingdom: Plantae
Hardiness: Zone 3
Habit: herb
Bloom: Summer