Wild Flowers East of the Rockies 297 



OSWEGO TEA; BEE BALM (Monarda didyma) is 



one of our most brilliantly colored wild flowers and 

 shares with the Cardinal Flower the honor of being 

 the most intensely scarlet colored. It grows along 

 the shady borders of woodland streams or pools where 

 its vivid coloring is in strong contrast with the deep 

 greens of the surrounding vegetation. The stem 

 is hairy and rather rough; it attains heights of two 

 feet or more. The short-stemmed, broad-lance- 

 shaped leaves are light green, sharply toothed and 

 rather thin, the stem and the smaller leaves, just be- 

 low the flower heads, are often tinged with ruddy. 



The flowers grow in rounded terminal heads, com- 

 posed of numerous, long tubular, scarlet florets. The 

 upper lip is long, arched, pointed and often notched 

 at the tip; the lower lip is three-parted, the middle 

 one being longer than the side ones. 



Nectar, seated at the base of the long tube, can 

 only be reached by long-tongued insects. Best adapt- 

 ed to it are bumble bees and certain of the butter- 

 flies. The Ruby-throated Hummingbird, too, attract- 

 ed to this, his favorite color, often partakes of the 

 sweets. Two Stamens with prominent anthers and 

 a pistil with a two-parted stigma, are so situated in 

 the throat of the flower that it is impossible for either 

 bee or butterfly to reach the honey-cup without pol- 

 lenizing the stigma, usually with some brought from 

 another blossom. From July until September this 

 beautiful species blooms in suitable localities from 

 Quebec to Manitoba and southwards to Ga, and Mo. 



WILD BERGAMOT (Monarda fistulosa) is a quite 

 similar species with a smooth stem and paler flowers, 

 either pink or magenta-pink in color. The upper 

 leaves are stained with the shade of purple or lilac 

 that characterizes the flower bracts. We find this 

 species in dry ground in the same range. 



