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Bergamot | | Name : | Bergamot | | Botanical : | Monarda didyma | | Synonyms : | American bee balm
Beebalm
Gold melissa
Indian nettle
Oswego tea
Red bergamot
Scarlet monarda
| | Family : | Rustaceae | | Parts Used : | Leaves | | Habitat : | Native of the Oswego, New York area; found in thickets, fields, on streams banks and cultivated in herb gardens.New York to Georgia; Tennessee to Michigan. | | Description : | This species, on account of its aromatic odour, has become a favourite in our gardens. It has showy, scarlet flowers in large heads or whorls at the top of the stem, supported by leafy bracts, the leaflets of which are of a pale-green colour tinged with red. Its square, grooved and hard stems rise about 2 feet high, and the leaves which it bears in pairs are rather rough on both surfaces.
The whole plant is strongly impregnated with a delightful fragrance; even after the darkly-coloured leaves have died away, the surface rootlets give off the pleasant smell by which the plant has earned its common name 'Bergamot,' it being reminiscent of the aroma of the Bergamot Orange.
It is known in America as 'Oswego Tea,' because an infusion of its young leaves used to form a common beverage in many parts of the United States.
It is also sometimes called 'Bee Balm,' as bees are fond of its blossoms, which secrete much nectar.
It delights in a moist, light soil, and in a situation where the plants have only the morning sun, where they will continue in flower longer than those which are exposed to the full sun. It is a very ornamental plant and readily propagated by its creeping roots and by slips or cuttings, which, if planted in a shady corner in May, will take root in the same manner as the other Mints.
| | Constituents : | Stimulant, carminative, rubefacient | | Uses : | An infusion is good for colds, coughs, nausea, and sore throats.Native Americans used leaf tea for colic, gas, colds, fever, stomachaches, nosebleeds, insomnia, heart trouble, measles, and to induce sweating.Poultice used for headaches.Historically, physicians used leaf tea to expel worms and gas. | | Dosage : | The best quality tea material is achieved if the leaves are stripped off the square, hollow stems and dried in warm shade within 2-3 days.A longer drying period might discolor the leaves, producing an inferior type product.Finish drying with artificial heat when necessary. | | Myths : | This plant is entirely different and hardier than Melissa.It is a beautiful scarlet flowering native American mint.The foliage has a perfume fragrance.The flowers are so popular with bees that the plant deserves the name American bee balm.
Bergamot or bee balm is a part of American history; it is a source of tea which was a popular substitute for the imported variety amongst the mid-Atlantic patriots in the wake of the Boston Tea Party.That period was probably the best in bergamot's history, though it retains its mystique, thanks to a striking appearance and the richly American nick-name, Oswego tea.
The name Oswego tea came from the town, Oswego, New York?More likely both the town and the tea acquired the name Oswego from the Native Americans inhabiting the area, who had it first. The Native Americans passed their knowledge of the plant to the colonists, and one, a John Bartram of Philadelphia, reportedly sent seeds to England in the mid-1700s.From England, bergamot traveled to the Continent, where it is still cultivated, generally under the names gold melissa and Indian nettle.
Among the foremost growers of this herb in the United States were the Shakers, who had a settlement near Oswego, New York.The Shakers were among America's great herbalists; they valued bergamot not only for tea and culinary uses, but for its medicinal virtues.The leaves can be used to flavor apple jelly, fruit cups, and salads.
The entire plant emits a strong fragrance similar to citrus, but most like that of the tropical tree, orange bergamot, hence the nickname bergamot.The scent is suitable for use in potpourris and other scented mixtures.The bright red flowers attract bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies and make striking, long-lasting cut blooms.The blossoms provide the flavoring for the famous Earl Grey tea.The flowers are also edible.
The hills around Pittsfield, Massachusetts are rife with this plant, wild and domestic. |
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