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Monarda didyma

Common name: Bergamot Family: Labiatae
Author: L. Botanical references: 43, 200
Synonyms:  
Known Hazards: None known
Range: Eastern N. America - New York to Michigan, south to Georgia and Tennessee.
Habitat: Moist soils[235] in rich woods, thickets and bottom lands[43].
Edibility Rating (1-5): 3Medicinal Rating (1-5):2

Other Common Names:From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
Bee Balm [E,L,H], Beebalm [E], Bergamot [H], Monarde Ecarlate [E], Monarde Tee [E], Oswego Tea [H,E,L], Oswego Tea, Bee Balm [S], Pennsylvanische Thee [E], Red Bergamot [H], Scarlet Beebalm [P,B], Scarlet Monarda [E,H], Scharlakenrode Monarde [E], The D'Oswego [E],
Epithets:From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
didyma = in pairs;
Systematics:From a USDA Plants Database
Order: Lamiales. Renamed to Lamiaceae -- Mint family
Other Range Info: From the Ethnobotany Database
Britain; France; Germany; Netherlands; Us; Us(Amerindian); Us(Appalachia)

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.9m by 0.45m . It is hardy to zone 4 and is not frost tender. It is in leaf from April to October, in flower from June to September, and the seeds ripen from August to October. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees. The plant is self-fertile. It is noted for attracting wildlife. We rate it 3/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and can grow in heavy clay soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Cultivated Beds, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade.

Edible Uses

Condiment; Flowers; Leaves; Tea.

Leaves and young shoot tips - raw or cooked. They are used as a flavouring in salads, fruit salads, drinks etc[46, 61, 105, 183].
Flowers - raw. They are added as an attractive garnish to salads[183, 238, 244].
An excellent aromatic tea is made from the fresh or dried leaves and flower heads[21, 46, 105, 183]. The leaves give an Earl Grey flavour to China tea[238].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Anthelmintic; Carminative; Diuretic; Expectorant; Febrifuge; Rubefacient; Stimulant.

Bergamot is often used as a domestic medicine, being particularly useful in the treatment of digestive disorders.
The leaves and flowering stems are anthelmintic, carminative, diuretic, expectorant, febrifuge, rubefacient and stimulant[4, 222]. An infusion is used in the treatment of flatulent colic and sickness, it is also used as a diuretic to treat urinary disorders[4, 238]. The leaves can be harvested before the plant flowers, or they can be harvested with the flowering stems. They can be used fresh or dried[238].
An essential oil from the herb is mainly used externally as a rubefacient in the treatment of rheumatism etc[4].

Other Uses

Essential; Pot-pourri.

Yields an essential oil, used in perfumery, as a hair tonic etc[46, 61].
The dried leaves and flowers are used to scent and add colour to pot-pourri[238].

Cultivation details

Easily grown in ordinary garden soil so long as it is not too dry[1, 200]. Grows well in heavy clay soils. Requires a moist soil and a sunny position[4, 200]. Prefers some shade[4] but succeeds in a sunny position so long as the soil does not dry out.
Plants are hardy to at least -25°c[187].
The flowers are rich in nectar and are very attractive to bees[4, 55, 244]. A good companion plant, it grows well with tomatoes[14, 20].
Bergamot is a very ornamental and aromatic plant, it is often grown in the herb garden, there are some named varieties[183, 233]. The leaves, stems and roots carry a delicious aromatic orange-like perfume when crushed[245].
Plants are subject to mildew in dry summers[200].

Propagation

Seed - sow mid to late spring in a cold frame. Germination usually takes place within 10 - 40 days at 20°c. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out into their permanent positions in early summer.
The seed can also be sown in situ in late summer in areas where the winters are not too severe and will produce larger plants.
Cuttings of soft basal shoots in spring. Harvest the shoots with plenty of underground stem when they are about 8 - 10cm above the ground. Pot them up into individual pots and keep them in light shade in a cold frame or greenhouse until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the summer.
Division in spring or autumn. Very easy, large divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found that it is better to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in light shade in a cold frame until they are well established before planting them out in late spring or early summer.

Scent

Plant: Crushed
The leaves, stems and roots carry a delicious aromatic orange-like perfume when crushed[245].

Cultivars

''
No entries have been made for this species as yet.

Suppliers

Plants For A Future is working with the following groups to try and make these plants easily available. Parts of the proceeds will be donated to   so please mention us when ordering.
Wildwood Nurseries
Lower Manor Cottage
Thornbury
Holsworthy
Devon
EX22 7DD
Email: lorna@macace.co.uk
Phone 01409 261324 Fax 01409 261324
Distribution: UK
How to order: Direct from Wildwood by email/phone
Last Updated: March 03
Item: Monarda didyma (bergamot)

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

References for monarda didyma (a possible synonym).

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[14] Holtom. J. and Hylton. W. Complete Guide to Herbs. Rodale Press 1979 ISBN 0-87857-262-7
A good herbal.

[20] Riotte. L. Companion Planting for Successful Gardening. Garden Way, Vermont, USA. 1978 ISBN 0-88266-064-0
Fairly good.

[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[55] Harris. B. C. Eat the Weeds. Pivot Health 1973
Interesting reading.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[187] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Perennials Volumes 1 and 2. Pan Books 1991 ISBN 0-330-30936-9
Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.

[233] Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants J. M. Dent & Sons, London. 1990 ISBN 0 460 86048 8
A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.

[235] Britton. N. L. Brown. A. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada Dover Publications. New York. 1970 ISBN 0-486-22642-5
Reprint of a 1913 Flora, but still a very useful book.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[244] Phillips. R. & Foy. N. Herbs Pan Books Ltd. London. 1990 ISBN 0-330-30725-8
Deals with all types of herbs including medicinal, culinary, scented and dye plants. Excellent photographs with quite good information on each plant.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

Readers Comments

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Bibliography

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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