MINT FAMILY LABIATAE 
HORSE MINT 
Monarda punctata L. 
The Horse Mint and its close relative the Wild Bergamot 
are very fragrant and yield an oil used in the manufacture of 
perfume. This species blooms in midsummer and continues 
late, sometimes after the first 
heavy frost, and through this | 
long season yields a high 
grade of honey. 
This common perennial 
grows in sandy open places 
from New York to Minnesota 
and south to Florida and Texas. 
As is the case with most sand- 
growing plants, it is usually 
covered rather densely with 
soft hairs. The square stem 
grows 2-3 feet high and is often 
much branched. The lanceolate 
or oblong leaves are sparsely 
serrate, 1-3 inches long and 
taper into the petioles. They 
often have smaller leaves clus- 
tered in the axils. 
The numerous flower 
clusters are axillary as well as terminal and the bracts that 
surround them are yellowish or purplish and more conspicuous 
than the flowers. The tubular calyx is somewhat hairy inside and 
its 5 teeth are very short. The yellowish corolla is spotted with 
purple on the upper as well as the lower lip. The 2 stamens do 
not extend beyond the hairy upper lip. The nutlets from the 
deeply 4-parted ovary are ovoid and smooth. 
The Bradbury Monarda, Monarda Bradburiana Beck, is our 
only species with sessile leaves. The plant grows on dry hills and 
open woodland areas, is 1-2 feet high and blooms from May to 
July. The ovate leaves are serrate, long pointed and generally 
heart shaped at the base. The bright green calyx is smooth outside 
and bristly within, about one-half inch long, shaped like a vase and 
constricted just below the 5 long teeth at the summit. The pink or 
white corolla has purple spots, and its upper lip is hairy. 
286 
