Wild Bergamot, also commonly called Bee Balm or Horse-Mint, has a lovely violet blossom and distinctively aromatic foliage. It is a familiar component of prairie and savanna communities on all but the wettest of soils. Native to most of North America, Wild Bergamot is a favorite of butterflies, bees and hummingbirds. Its species name, fistulosa, refers to the tube-like structure of its blossoms, which appear from July through September. It is a clump-forming, mint family member that grows typically to 2-4' tall. Lavender, two-lipped, tubular flowers appear in dense, globular, solitary, terminal heads atop square stems. Each flower head is subtended by (rests upon) a whorl of showy, pinkish, leafy bracts. The toothed, aromatic, oblong, grayish-green leaves (to 4") may be used in teas. Long summer bloom period.
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