Wild Bergamot
Wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa sp.) is a perennial herb in the Lamiaceae (mint) family.
- From creeping rhizomes, vertical simple stems grow 30 – 60 cm.
- Stem leaves are toothed, opposite and somewhat lanceolate.
- The inflorescence (complete flower head) is a terminal showy pink-mauve complex cluster.
- All photos by the author. Click an image for a lightbox view.
- After flowering, small nutlets form and are later dispersed.
- Wild bergamot grows on richer soils in openings.
- It is a honey plant favored by bees, butterflies and moths, and hummingbirds.
- The oils found in bergamot are valued for their scent and are used for various medicinal uses and for flavoring (as in Earl Gray tea).
- Bergamot may also be called bee balm.
- It can be propagated by root division, stem cuttings, or grown from seed.
- We have spotted it in areas north of Kamloops, including Sullivan Valley and the Barriere River Valley. We also have it in the home flower garden.
I used to see just before the cliff, on the left (north) side of the Kamloops/Shuswap Road, about a mile after the turn off to Pritchard. Also in Chase on the right of the #1, near (west of) the old cemetery.
I love bee balm. I went down a rabbit hole once and learned the flavour in Earl Grey tea is from the essential oil of the bergamot orange rind (that fruit grows in Italy).