Wild Bergamot

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Wild Bergamot, a culinary herb, member of the mint family, named for the Italian bergamot orange, which has a similar scent. It is also called bee balm, because it attracts bees, and Oswego tea, because Native Americans of the Oswego tribe used it to make a medicinal tea. It was introduced into cultivation by American botanist John Bertram in 1744, who found it growing on the shores of Lake Ontario in the United States. It was widely used for brewing tea during the boycott of British tea that followed the Boston Tea Party of 1773. Wild bergamot is native to eastern North America from New York to Michigan and south to Georgia and Tennessee. It survives winter temperatures as low as -34° C (-30° F). It is best adapted to moist soils in full sun to partial shade.

Wild bergamot is a herbaceous perennial, a plant with soft, green stems that lives for more than two growing seasons. The aboveground portions die each year after the first freeze, but the plant regrows from the roots each spring. The stems of wild bergamot form clumps and grow to a height of about 60 to 120 cm (about 2 to 4 ft). The stems are four-sided and may have some hairs when young but become hairless with age. The leaves are about 10 cm (about 4 in) long and may be either heart shaped or pointed at the tip and rounded at the base. They can be smooth or slightly hairy and have toothed edges and a strong mint scent. They are attached in pairs to leaf stems that are about 0.7 cm (about 0.3 in) long.

Wild bergamot blooms from midsummer to fall with flowers that are usually red, but may be pink, mauve, or white. The flowers are arranged in broad, flat-topped clusters at the end of stems. Each flower has a long tube, divided at the end into two flaring lips. The lower lip is divided into three segments and the tube is hairy on the inside. Wild bergamot has underground stems, called rhizomes, from which new plants grow, enabling it to spread aggressively. It can become a problem weed in a garden unless the spread of the roots is blocked by an underground barrier.

Wild bergamot is commonly grown as a garden plant. The dried leaves can be brewed to make a tea with sedative effects that is said to relieve nausea. The herb adds a sweet flavor and fragrance to desserts, jellies, and soft cheeses. The leaves are used to scent candles, perfumes, and potpourri.

Scientific classification: Wild bergamot is a member of the family Lamiaceae (formerly Labiatae). It is classified as Monarda didyma.

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