North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Genus:
Family:

Monarda clinopodia

Monarda clinopodia L.

basil beebalm, basil bergamot, white bergamot

Synonym(s): Monarda allophylla, Monarda fistulosa var. clinopodia

Image ID: 38013
Image by: Bradley, Keith
Image Collection: NCBG Digital Library

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: MOCL
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Monarda clinopodia
Include in WOTAS: 0
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2019-09-26

GENUS INDEX

GENUS CODE: MONAR
GENUS SCIENTIFIC: Monarda
GENUS AUTHORITY: L.
GENUS COMMON: Beebalm
GENUS SUMMARY: A genus of about 12-20 species, herbs, of North America. Many of our species are cultivated, especially M. didyma in various selected forms. Additional studies are needed on a number of taxonomic problems in Monarda. Most of the varieties recognized above have been considered valid by a succession of workers; they do seem to describe morphologically distinguishable (if not entirely discrete) entities which make phytogeographic sense.
GENUS IDENTIFICATION:
GENUS REFERENCES: McClintock & Epling (1942)=Z; Scora (1967)=Y; Fosberg & Artz (1953)=X; Gill (1977); Prather & Keith (2003); Harley et al. in Kadereit (2004).

FAMILY INDEX

FAMILY CODE: LAMIAC
FAMILY SCIENTIFIC: Lamiaceae
FAMILY AUTHORITY: Lindley 1836 or LABIATAE A.L. de Jussieu 1789
FAMILY COMMON: Mint Family
FAMILY SUMMARY: A family of about 230-250 genera and 6700-7170 species, herbs, shrubs, vines, and trees, cosmopolitan. The placement in the Lamiaceae of several genera traditionally placed in Verbenaceae (e.g. Clerodendrum) is strongly supported by several lines of evidence.
FAMILY REFERENCE: Harley et al. in Kadereit (2004).

NCBG DESCRIPTIVES

INTRO:
STEMS:
LEAVES:
INFLORESCENCE:
FLOWERS:
FRUITS:
COMMENTS:
HEIGHT: 2-3 ft

DURATION: Perennial
HABIT: Herb

LEAF ARRANGEMENT:
LEAF COMPLEXITY:
LEAF RETENTION:

FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
SYMMETRY: Bilateral (Zygomorphic)
BLOOM TIME: Late May-Sep

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
				x	x	x	x	x	x

BLOOM COLOR:

White	Red	Pink	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Lavender	Purple	Violet	Brown	Not Applicable
x		x

FRUITING PERIOD: Jul-Oct.

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE:
NATIVE RANGE: eastern United States

HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text: Basil bee-balm has upright cymes of showy, unusual flowers. Its flowers are white in color, with small purple spots on the lower lip, with white to pinkish bracts underneath. This species is found growing at the sunny edges of woods in the mountains and upper piedmont. Basil bee-balm has foliage that is pleasantly aromatic when crushed. This native perennial is easy to grow and needs little care. It is particularly appealing when it has grown into a good-sized colony and many flowering stalks are in bloom. Over time, it will spread and form a handsome colony.

Bloom Table Text:

NCBG Location:

Cultural Notes:

SOIL MOISTURE: Dry, Average, Moist/Wet
LIGHT EXPOSURE: Sun, Part Shade, Shade
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 3
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 9
GERMINATION CODE:
WILDLIFE VALUE: Bee Friendly, Butterfly Friendly, Hummingbird Friendly
DEER RESISTANCE:

GRIM COLLECTIONS

Coll_id	Project	Collection date	Collector	Action
166	HORT	2003-09-25	Wilbur-Brooks	View
1673	HORT	2003-09-25	Bryan	View
1700	HORT	2005-01-01	Liloia	View
2559	NPMD	2021-10-05	Pil	View
2563	NPMD	2021-08-25	Pil	View

GRIM ACCESSIONS

acc_id	acc_num	acc_dt	coll_id	Action
165	2006-0699	2019-07-02	166	View
4763	1993-0045			View
6599	1996-0234			View
9091	2004-0274	2006-06-19	1673	View

GRIM PLANTINGS

plt_num	acc_id	loc_num	pers_num	inst_dt	Action
330	165	187	Liloia	2006-02-28	View
331	165	11	Liloia	2008-04-25	View
7114	4763	11	Liloia	1993-07-28	View
9319	6599	27	NCBG staff	1996-11-25	View
11523	9091	115	Liloia	2004-06-21	View

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: MOCL
USDA Common Name: White Bergamot
Native Status: L48 (N)
Distribution: USA (AL, CT, DC, DE, GA, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, MI, MO, NC, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, SC, TN, VA, VT, WV)
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Forb/herb

NATIONAL WETLAND INDICATOR STATUS

Region:	AGCP	AK	AW	CB	EMP	GP	HI	MW	NCNE	WMVE
Status:	FACU				FACU			FACU	FACU

This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 2016 National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.3 (Lichvar, R.W., D.L. Banks, W.N. Kirchner, and N.C. Melvin. 2016. The National Wetland Plant List: 2016 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2016-30: 1-17. Published 28 April 2016. ISSN 2153 733X). Regions: AGCP-Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain, AK-Alaska, AW-Arid West, CB-Caribbean, EMP-Eastern Mountains and Piedmont, GP-Great Plains, HI-Hawaii, MW-Midwest, NCNE-Northcentral and Northeast, WMCV-Western Mountains, Valleys & Coast

WEAKLEY FLORA

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Monarda clinopodia
COMMON NAME: Basil Bergamot, Basil Beebalm
SYNONYMY: [= C, F, G, K, Mo, Pa, RAB, S, Va, W, Y, Z; = M. fistulosa Linnaeus var. clinopodia (Linnaeus) Cooperrider]
PHENOLOGY: Late May-Sep; Jul-Oct.
HABITAT: Mesic, forested slopes.
COMMENTS: NJ, w. NY, and IL, south to n. GA and c. AL (some of the range perhaps accountable to cultivation). There appear to be a number of chemical races in M. clinopodia which may warrant taxonomic status.
RANGE MAP: Monarda clinopodia.png

Key to Map Symbols

ABOUT FAMILY (Weakley Flora)
Lamiaceae Lindley 1836 or LABIATAE A.L. de Jussieu 1789 (Mint Family)
SUMMARY: A family of about 230-250 genera and 6700-7170 species, herbs, shrubs, vines, and trees, cosmopolitan. The placement in the Lamiaceae of several genera traditionally placed in Verbenaceae (e.g. Clerodendrum) is strongly supported by several lines of evidence.
REFERENCE: Harley et al. in Kadereit (2004).

ABOUT GENUS (Weakley Flora)
Monarda L. (Beebalm)
SUMMARY: A genus of about 12-20 species, herbs, of North America. Many of our species are cultivated, especially M. didyma in various selected forms. Additional studies are needed on a number of taxonomic problems in Monarda. Most of the varieties recognized above have been considered valid by a succession of workers; they do seem to describe morphologically distinguishable (if not entirely discrete) entities which make phytogeographic sense.
REFERENCE: McClintock & Epling (1942)=Z; Scora (1967)=Y; Fosberg & Artz (1953)=X; Gill (1977); Prather & Keith (2003); Harley et al. in Kadereit (2004).

HERBARIUM RESOURCES

SERNEC: Find Monarda clinopodia in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
UNC SERNEC: Find Monarda clinopodia in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)

WEB RESOURCES

USDA: Find Monarda clinopodia in USDA Plants
NPIN: Find Monarda clinopodia in NPIN Database
FNA: Find Monarda clinopodia in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Monarda clinopodia

IMAGE USE RECORDS

ID IMAGE: 38013 - Primary Image FloraQuest Plant Detail Page (Landscape Preferred)
ID IMAGE1: 0 - Primary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE2: 0 - Secondary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE3: 39901 - Primary Image Plant Sale Sign (Landscape Only)
ID IMAGE4: 0 - Primary Image New Plant Sale Label (Portrait Only)