Bee Balm

Description

Also known as scarlet, lavender, purple, or wild bergamot. Bee balm is native to the eastern US and favored by pollinators like bees and hummingbirds (Newcomb 1977). Bee balm has fragrant leaves and presents beautiful red or purple flowers that look like fireworks. Although bee balm is often called scarlet bergamot due to its similarity in scent to the bergamot orange (Citrus bergamia) used to flavor Earl Grey tea, the two plants are not related (Foster 2006).

History

The genus Monarda gets its name from the Spanish botanist, physician, and explorer Nicholas Monardes (1512-1588), who wrote one of the seminal European works on American plants. European settlers who tried drinking a tea made from the leaves of Monarda didyma liked it so much that they named it Oswego tea, as the plants grew along the Oswego River. Oswego tea was used as an alternative to British black tea after the Boston Tea Party (Foster 2006).

Bee balm was, however, used by many Native American tribes long before it became popular with European settlers. The Blackfoot used the plant’s leaves as antiseptic for skin and mouth infections, while the Cherokee and the Teton Dakota used the herb for stomach ailments. The leaves and flower heads of M. fistulosawere used by the Chippewa and Meskwaki as a cold remedy and by the Ojibwa for soothing fevers and convulsions. Bee balm is used in modern herbal medicine to expel gas, to relieve nausea, in menstrual cramps, and as an expectorant to soothe sore throats (Foster 2006).

Current medicinal uses

Scientific research on the clinical effects of Monarda is lacking, but several of the components found in the essential oil from some species, such as M. punctata, or horsemint, indicate that there may be something to its traditional use in treating wounds and protecting against infection (Foster 2006). Dr. James Duke, a world renowned pharmacognosist, recommends Monarda fistulosa for treating halitosis and tooth decay, as the leaves are very high in the powerful cavity-preventing compound geraniol as well as the pungent antiseptic thymol, an ingredient in Listerine (Duke 1997). The essential oil of M. didyma has been shown to have antiplatelet activity (Tognolini 2005). It has been suggested that these properties may make some species of Monarda effective against the symptoms of altitude sickness caused by dehydration (Duke 1997).

Adverse effects

None reported.

Comments

A tea made of the flowers and leaves of a lavender Monarda species was tested by the Urban Herbs office interns and proclaimed by all to be undrinkable.

References

Duke JA. The Green Pharmacy. St. Martin’s Press, 1997. (p. 35, 78, 152, 431)

Foster S and Johnson R. Desk Reference to Nature’s Medicine. National Geographic: Washington, DC, 2006. (p. 34-35).

Newcomb L. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Little, Brown and Company, Boston, 1977. (p. 92)

Tognolini et al. Comparative screening of plant essential oils: Phenylpropanoid moiety as basic core for antiplatelet activity. Life Sciences. 2006; 78: 1419 – 1432. 

Disclaimer 

Information on this website is for educational purposes only. Many herbs historically used for medicine are considered too toxic to use today; some of these herbs have caused deaths. Do not ingest these herbs based on information on this website. We have not provided sufficient information for the safe medicinal use of any of these herbs, nor sufficient information for treatment of poisoning. All recreational use of these herbs is dangerous.