BEE-BALM 



are hemispherical and sometimes a flowering stem 

 bears two terminal heads one above the other. Like 

 so many of the mints; bracts, calyx, corolla, stamens, 

 and pistil all take on the glow of the dominant color. 

 The long-throated co- 

 rolla, often a full inch 

 and a half, gives its 

 nectar to the hum- 

 ming-birds and the 

 bumblebee; honey- 

 bees and wasps, how- 

 ever, are wise and 

 wary, and cut holes 

 through the base of 

 the blossom. 



It should be a road- 

 side plant, but rarely 

 is, except along unfre- 

 quented paths for, like 

 the flame of the red- 

 bird's wing or the 

 tanager's coat, its color 

 betrays it to the 

 thoughtless or childish passer-by, who plucks the blos- 

 soms on impulse and throws them away after brief 

 attention. If, however, you chance upon it in the 

 tangle you may catch the shadow of vibrating wings, 

 or hear the deep bass of the bumblebee or watch 

 the butterflies as they come and go; for the honey- 

 call is borne afar by the fragrance carried on the 

 passing breeze. 



Bee-Balm. Mondrda didyma 



i8s 



