Monarda
The other day while deadheading the bee balms in my garden I noticed that they have a very nice aroma. The next day I was volunteering at the Pollinator Meadow in McNab Park and realized that the bergamot (purple) looked very similar to the bee balm in my garden. So... to the google! I learned that bee balm and bergamot are the same, they are both Monarda didyma. The name bee balm comes from the plants proclivity to attract bees, and the name bergamot is named due to the familiar aroma it shares with the bergamot citrus plant (Citrus bergamia). The botanist Dr Nicholas Mondares is the reason that bee balm is also called bergamot because they were the one who was reminded of the citrus aroma, bergamot. The Latin name for bee balm (Monarda didyma) was named after this botanist.
An interesting fact about Scarlet bee balm (Monarda didyma) is that it was used to make a tea for digestion, and since it grew by the Oswego river it would be called Oswego tea!
