Bee Balm |
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| Common Name | Bee Balm |
| Scientific Name | Monarda didyma |
| Bee Balm is known by other names: Bergamot, Oswego Tea, Monarda, Blue Balm, Scarlet Monarda, High Balm, Low Balm, Mountain Balm, and Mountain Mint. The genus name Monarda honors the sixteenth-century Spanish botanist and physician Nicolas Monardes, who wrote about medicinal and useful herbs. Bee balm is a true American wildflower and a member of the mint family. Its native habitats are moist areas and stream banks, and it is found from Georgia and Tennessee northward and as far west as Michigan and Ontario. The red-flowered monarda was known to the American Indians and early settlers, who made a hot beverage of the leaves and flowers. It became a special favorite after the Boston Tea Party, since it was the closest taste substitute for China tea. Bee balm is said to relieve nausea, vomiting, and flatulence. Because it is rich in a substance called thymol, which has a pungent taste and odour, the herb is used extensively in modern medicine and dentistry as an aromatic antiseptic. | |
| Plant | Perennial. Its hard, square, grooved stems have 3- to 6-inch rough, dark, paired leaves branching off from them. The delightful, scarlet, two-lipped flowers are beloved by long-tongued bumblebees and butterflies but are the despair of honeybees, who cannot reach the nectar deep in the flowers. Flowers bloom in solitary terminal heads, July to September. |
| Height | 1 to 3 feet. |
| Soil | Moist, swamp-type soil; moderately acid. |
| Exposure | Full sun or partial shade. |
| Propagation | By seeds, stem cuttings, or root division. Seeds should be planted during the third lunar phase; root divisions should be made in the spring. If the plants are divided later, they're apt to winterkill. |
| Care | Mature plants should be spaced 18 inches apart. Plants spread quickly so they should be taken up every 3 years, divided, and reset. Replant only the outside, newer roots; discard exhausted central plants. To increase flower size, do not let plants flower the first summer. In successive years, cut back the plant after it blooms, and it will flower again in early autumn. Late in autumn, cut down the stalks, and cover the roots with enriched soil. |
| Part used for Tea | Leaves, flowers. Be sure to wash flowers well in order to float out insects lurking in the deep corollas. |
| Taste | Aromatic, minty. |
| How to Brew | BY INFUSION: Steep 1 teaspoon dried leaves or flowers in 1 cup of boiling water for 15 minutes. Strain. Add honey to flavour. |
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