Wild Bergamot
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 spri...