Stems slender, usually branched, especially above, 2 to 3 feet high, hairy or nearly smooth, from a perennial root. Leaves opposite, lanceolate, narrowed or heart-shaped at the base. Flower clusters solitary and terminal or rarely also in the uppermost axils; bracts whitish or purplish. Calyx teeth awl-shaped, about as long as the diameter of the tubular calyx. Corolla yellowish pink, lilac or purplish, 1 to 11/2 inches long, hairy on the upper lip, otherwise resembling in floral structure the flowers of the Oswego Tea.

On dry hills and in thickets, Maine to Minnesota, south to Florida and Kansas. Flowering from June to September.

The Pale Wild Bergamot (Monarda mollis Linnaeus) possesses a short, fine pubescence and has paler green leaves, otherwise closely resembling M. fistulosa.

Memoir 15 N. Y. State Museum

Plate 190

A. Wild Bergamot - Monarda fistulosa