Scarlet Beebalm (Monarda didyma L.)

Photographic Location: Sycamore Ridge Ranch in Middle Tennessee

Scarlet Beebalm is aromatic herb a member of the mint family (Lamiaceae). It is also known by the common names Bergamont, Oswego Tea, and Crimson Beebalm.

The common name Beebalm refers to the use of a resin derived from the plant that may be used for healing and soothing in particularly of bee stings. The common name Oswego Tea refers to the Oswego native Americans living near the present day city of Oswego in upstate New York who taught early white settlers how to make a herbal tea from the plants leaves. The common name Bergamont is derived from its fragrance that is similar to the fragrance of the Bergamont orange. The genus name Monarda is in recognition of Nicolas Monardes, a Spanish physician, who authored an early herbal that introduced Europe to many of the plants from North America. The species name didyma translates from the Latin meaning "in pairs" or "twins" referring to the stamens occurring in pairs.