Plant: perennial herb; 30-120 cm tall; stems simple (rarely branching)
Leaves: ovate-lanceolate, 20-120 mm long, 8-38 mm wide, glabrous to hirsute or subtomentose, the margins serrate to nearly entire, the petioles generally less than 7 mm long
INFLORESCENCE: single terminal heads; bracts reflexed and often pink-tinted
Flowers: calyx 5.5-11.5 mm long, the orifice hirsute within, the teeth acuminate and ca. 1 mm long; corolla 25-35 mm long, rose to lavender (rarely white)
Fruit: NUTLETS ovoid, smooth to somewhat reticulate
REFERENCES: Henry, April M. 2003. Lamiaceae. J. Ariz. - Nev. Acad. Sci. Volume 35(2).
Duration: Perennial
Nativity: Native
Lifeform: Subshrub
General: Perennial, aromatic, 30-75 cm tall; stems erect, mostly simple, finely pubescent above, glabrous below; rhizomes creeping.
Leaves: Cauline, opposite, simple, ovate-lanceolate to lance- triangular, 2.5-8 cm long, 1-3 cm wide, glabrous to pubescent, paler below, margins serrate; petioles mostly 2-5 mm long.
Flowers: Inflorescence of verticils in the axils of upper leaves; calyx 2-3 mm long, pubescent, the teeth deltoid or awl- shaped; corolla 4-7 mm long, pale purple, pink, or white; stamens 4; flowers July-October.
Fruits: Nutlets 4, oblong, smooth.
Ecology: Ponderosa pine and mixed conifer forests, canyons, streambanks, moist soils, open to shaded habitats; 1500- 2600 m (5000-8500 ft); Apache, Cochise, Coconino, Gila, Graham, Greenlee, Navajo, Pima, Santa Cruz, and Yavapai counties; central to western Canada
Notes: Ours, as here described, belong to var. menthaefolia. Monarda citriodora (lemon beebalm) [=Monarda austromontana] is an annual, 15-80 cm tall; leaves are elliptic, oblong, or oblanceolate, 3-7 cm long, margins entire to inconspicuously serrate, petioles 3-20 mm long; inflorescence comprises axillary and terminal verticils, subtended by leafy bracts, these strongly reflexed, whitish, purple tinged, or sometimes green, only the midvein prominent; corolla is white. It occurs on mesas, slopes, canyons, and pine forests at 1200-2600 m (4000- 8000 ft). Monarda pectinata (pony beebalm) is similar to M. citriodora, but is distinguished primarily by spreading to erect bracts, these usually green and with 3 prominent veins; corolla is white, often pink tinged. It occurs in ponderosa pine forests, pinyon-juniper woodlands, and grasslands. Wild bergamot is similar in flavor to oregano and has numerous medicinal uses among many tribes. Tea may be used to treat coughs, colds, and pneumonia. In the dried form it can be made into a powdered paste to eliminate fever and headache. It has antiseptic qualities and is an effective diaphoretic (perspiration producer).
Editor: Springer et al. 2008
Pleasantly aromatic rhizomatous perennial 5-12 dm, often branched; stems usually hairy at least above; lvs deltoid-lanceolate to lanceolate or rarely ovate, acuminate, ±serrate, rounded or truncate to broadly acute at base, thinly hairy or glabrous to conspicuously hairy above or canescent beneath, the larger 6-10 cm on petioles 1-1.5 cm; heads 1-3.5 cm wide (excluding the cors); bracteal lvs lanceolate or ovate; cal 7-10 mm, puberulent, its throat densely hirsute internally with erect white hairs a third to half as long as the cal-lobes, these subulate, 1-2 mm; cor bright (but rather pale) lavender, 2-3.5 cm, the somewhat arcuate upper lip densely villous at the tip; 2n=32, 34, 36. Upland woods, thickets, and prairies. Que. to Man. and B.C., s. to Ga., La., and Ariz. June-Sept. (M. mollis, the common form with the hairs of the stem decurved) Most of our plants are var. fistulosa, as principally described above. The western var. menthaefolia (Graham) Fernald, a shorter, less branched plant, often with a single head, the longest petioles seldom over 1 cm, enters our range in w. Minn. (M. menthaefolia)
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.
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