North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Genus:
Family:

Monarda fistulosa

Monarda fistulosa L.

wild bergamot, appalachian bergamot

Cultivar(s): Claire Grace

Image ID: 9299
Image by: Ware, Richard & Teresa
Image Collection: NCBG Digital Library

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: MOFI
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Monarda fistulosa
Include in WOTAS: 1
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2019-02-12

CULTIVAR INDEX

Cult_id	Cultivar_name	Action
223	Claire Grace	View

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: Erect, colonial-rhizomatous perennial found on moist wooded slopes, roadsides, woodland edges and old fields, mostly in the Appalachian Mountains.
STEMS: Stems 4-angled, branching above, green to reddish-brown, often with hairs on the angles.
LEAVES: Leaves opposite, petiolate, oval to broadly lance-shaped, to 4 in. long, with toothed margins, often red- or purple-tinged, lightly hairy and releasing a pungent scent when crushed.
INFLORESCENCE:
FLOWERS: Flowers in crowns up to 3 in. wide at stem ends, surrounded by leafy bracts; pink to lavender (or white); about 1 in. long; tubular with 2 spreading lips, the upper one straight and with 2 projecting stamens, the lower split into 3 narrow lobes. Flowers in the center bloom first.
FRUITS:
COMMENTS: Varieties of Monarda fistulosa (var. mollis, var. brevis) are recognized on the basis of type of hairiness on petioles and leaf surfaces, length of calyx, and leathery quality of leaves. Consult a technical guide (see Appendix) for identification of these.
HEIGHT: 2-5 ft.

DURATION: Perennial
HABIT: Herb

LEAF ARRANGEMENT: Opposite
LEAF COMPLEXITY: Simple
LEAF RETENTION:

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

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

BLOOM COLOR: Light lavender flowers

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

FRUITING PERIOD:

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE: Disturbed, Moist forests, Woods margins
NATIVE RANGE: eastern North America

HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text: Like several other Monarda species, M. fistulosa makes an excellent cut flower. This plant is also a great addition to any pollinator garden because it attracts birds, hummingbirds and butterflies. The plant is also highly deer resistant. In the wild this plant is found growing in dry open woods, fields, wet meadows and ditches. M. fistulosa will grow in a variety of soil conditions but is not tolerant of flooding.

Bloom Table Text: Like several other Monarda species, M. fistulosa makes an excellent cut flower. This plant is also a great addition to any pollinator garden because it attracts birds, hummingbirds and butterflies. The plant is also highly deer resistant. In the wild this plant is found growing in dry open woods, fields, wet meadows and ditches. M. fistulosa will grow in a variety of soil conditions but is not tolerant of flooding.

NCBG Location: Education Center Landscape

Cultural Notes:

SOIL MOISTURE: Dry, Average, Moist/Wet
LIGHT EXPOSURE: Sun, Part Shade
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 4
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 8
GERMINATION CODE: 1, 4
WILDLIFE VALUE: Bee Friendly, Butterfly Friendly, Hummingbird Friendly
DEER RESISTANCE:

GRIM COLLECTIONS

Coll_id	Project	Collection date	Collector	Action
99	HORT	2010-11-23	Poythress	View
143	HORT	2010-11-24	Liloia	View

GRIM ACCESSIONS

acc_id	acc_num	acc_dt	coll_id	Action
98	2012-0070	2012-06-06	99	View
142	2010-0057	2010-11-25	143	View
3661	1991-0355			View
6601	1996-0236			View

GRIM PLANTINGS

plt_num	acc_id	loc_num	pers_num	inst_dt	Action
152	98	42	Mixon	2012-03-21	View
153	98	18	Liloia	2012-05-01	View
154	98	19	Liloia	2012-05-01	View
5963	3661	96	NCBG staff	1991-05-01	View
9321	6601	27	NCBG staff	1996-11-26	View
12463	98	20	Liloia	0000-00-00	View

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: MOFI
USDA Common Name: Wild Bergamot
Native Status: L48 (N), CAN (N)
Distribution: USA (AL, AR, AZ, CO, CT, DC, DE, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY), CAN (AB, BC, MB, NT, ON, QC, SK)
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Subshrub, Forb/herb

NATIONAL WETLAND INDICATOR STATUS

Region:	AGCP	AK	AW	CB	EMP	GP	HI	MW	NCNE	WMVE
Status:	FACU		FACU		UPL	UPL		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 fistulosa var. fistulosa
COMMON NAME: Appalachian Bergamot
SYNONYMY: [= F, WV, X, Y; < M. fistulosa var. fistulosa - C, G, Va, Z (also see var. mollis) ; = M. fistulosa ssp. fistulosa var. fistulosa - K1, K2; < M. fistulosa ssp. fistulosa - Mo; < M. fistulosa - Pa, RAB, W; = M. fistulosa - S]
PHENOLOGY:
HABITAT: Mt (NC, VA, WV), Pd (DE, NC, VA):
COMMENTS: Moist wooded slopes, roadsides, woodland edges, old fields; common (rare in DE). Jun-Sep; Aug-Oct. CT south to sw. NC, nearly or entirely limited to the Appalachians. I have interpreted var. fistulosa and var. mollis somewhat differently than some previous workers. A more coherent geographic pattern is achieved by limiting var. fistulosa to plants with spreading hairs only.
RANGE MAP:

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

WEB RESOURCES

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

IMAGE USE RECORDS

ID IMAGE: 9299 - Primary Image FloraQuest Plant Detail Page (Landscape Preferred)
ID IMAGE1: 9299 - Primary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE2: 0 - Secondary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE3: 29735 - Primary Image Plant Sale Sign (Landscape Only)
ID IMAGE4: 0 - Primary Image New Plant Sale Label (Portrait Only)