Scarlet beebalm is native to eastern North America. The common name bergamot stems from
the plant's odor, which resembles that of bergamot orange.
(The bergamot flavoring used in Earl Grey Tea comes from the bergamot orange.)
Identification: These members of the mint family sport the
kinds of flowers I expect to find in exotic tropical plants, not in New England. They are brilliant red,
a disk of individual 1-1½″ (3-4 cm) tube-shaped flowers pointing outward from the center, a perfect
hummingbird feeding station. (Cultivars also appear in rose, pink, violet, and white.)
Flowering is from July to August. Plants are up to 2-5′ (70-150 cm) high, with square stems.
Leaves are opposite, oval, dark green with reddish leaf veins, 2-6″ (6-15 cm) × 1-3″ (3-8 cm).
I was surprised to see these two flowerheads, here gone mostly to seed, on the same stem. · 8/5/2019 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Wildflower Trail, Hollis, New Hampshire · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (12 × 18 cm)
7/6/2013 · Mike and Ellen’s, Shohola, Pennsylvania · ≈ 9 × 6″ (23 × 16 cm)
A cultivar. · 7/14/2012 · Gordon and Kathy’s, Prospect, Maine · ≈ 6 × 9″ (14 × 22 cm) ID is uncertain