Plant Database

From the Image Gallery

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial
Habit: Herb
Size Notes: Up to about 5 feet tall.
Leaf: Gray-Green
Flower: Flowers in 2 to 4 inch heads.
Fruit: Nutlets, brown, 4.

Bloom Information

Bloom Color: White , Pink , Purple
Bloom Time: May , Jun , Jul , Aug , Sep , Oct

Distribution

USA: AL , AR , AZ , CO , CT , DC , DE , GA , IA , ID , IL , IN , KS , KY , LA , MA , MD , ME , MI , MN , MO , MS , MT , NC , ND , NE , NH , NJ , NM , NY , OH , OK , OR , PA , RI , SC , SD , TN , TX , UT , VA , VT , WI , WV , WY
Canada: AB , BC , MB , NB , NL , NT , ON , QC , SK
Native Distribution: Most of southern Canada and the United States east of the Rockies, except Maritime Provinces, and peninsular Florida, south to Veracruz in eastern Mexico.
Native Habitat: Grows in dry open woods, fields, wet meadows and ditches, and at the edges of woods and marshes in the eastern fourth of Texas. Well-drained but moist sand, loam, clay; acidic or calcareous soils. Zones 4 to 8.

Growing Conditions

Water Use: Medium
Light Requirement: Sun , Part Shade
Soil Moisture: Dry , Moist
Soil pH: Alkaline (pH>7.2) , Acidic (pH<6.8) , Circumneutral (pH 6.8-7.2)
CaCO3 Tolerance: Medium
Drought Tolerance: Medium
Heat Tolerant: yes
Soil Description: Thrives in a wide range of soils, from acid to lime to rich to poor to sand to clay. Less tolerant of flooding, but can take it in the winter.
Conditions Comments: Prevent mildew by providing good drainage and air circulation.

Benefit

Use Ornamental: A hardy garden standard, with brilliant blooms and pleasantly fragrant foliage, many cultivars. Though prone to mildew in soils that aren't well aerated, selection 'Claire Grace' is more mildew resistant.
Use Wildlife: Birds, Hummingbirds, Butterflies
Use Food: Leaves boiled for tea, used for seasoning, chewed raw or dried; flowers edible.
Use Medicinal: Long ago, oil from the leaves was used to treat respiratory ailments. (Niering) Amerindians used leaf tea for colic, flatulence, colds, fevers, stomach aches, nosebleeds, insomnia, & heart trouble. For measles used to induce sweating; pulticed leaves for headaches. (Foster & Duke) Boiled dried plant to extract oil which was inhaled to relieve bronchial complaints, tea of plant used to reduce low fevers, to sooth sore throat, headache and colds, oil used to dry up pimples, boiled leaves applied directly to pimples. (Weiner) Tea from flower clusters used for fevers and colds, tea made from leaves used for coughs and whooping cough, boiled leaves placed in soft cloth placed over sore eyes and pimples, tea of leaves or flowers for adominal pain and to sooth the kidneys. (Kindscher) Infuse as a tea to relieve nausea, flatulence, menstrual pain and insomnia. Tru steam inhalation for bronchial catarrh and sore throats. (Bremness)
Use Other: The fragrant leaves can be used for perfume.
Conspicuous Flowers: yes
Fragrant Flowers: yes
Interesting Foliage: yes
Fragrant Foliage: yes
Attracts: Birds , Butterflies , Hummingbirds
Nectar Source: yes
Deer Resistant: High

Value to Beneficial Insects

Special Value to Native Bees
Special Value to Bumble Bees

This information was provided by the Pollinator Program at The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.

Propagation

Propagation Material: Root Division , Seeds
Description: Very easy to start from seed.
Seed Collection: Seeds ripen 2 months after plant blooms.
Seed Treatment: Seeds do not need to be cold stratified.
Commercially Avail: yes
Maintenance: Colonizes by rhizomes so lift and divide every 3 years to contain it, improve air circulation and improve plant vigor.

Find Seed or Plants

Order seed of this species from Native American Seed and help support the Wildflower Center.

Find seed sources for this species at the Native Seed Network.

View propagation protocol from Native Plants Network.

Mr. Smarty Plants says

Native flowers for Door County, Wisconsin
September 02, 2009
We recently were required to put in a new septic system on our vacation property in Door County, WI. This left us with a clearing on our wooded lot where the septic field is now located. The installer...
view the full question and answer

National Wetland Indicator Status

Region:	AGCP	AK	AW	CB	EMP	GP	HI	MW	NCNE	WMVE
Status:	FACU		FACU		UPL	UPL		FACU	FACU	FACU

This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.1 (Lichvar, R.W. 2013. The National Wetland Plant List: 2013 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2013-49: 1-241). Click here for map of regions.

From the National Organizations Directory

According to the species list provided by Affiliate Organizations, this plant is on display at the following locations:

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - Austin, TX
Native Plant Center at Westchester Community College, The - Valhalla, NY
Delaware Nature Society - Hockessin, DE
Native Seed Network - Corvallis, OR
NPSOT - Williamson County Chapter - Georgetown, TX
Mt. Cuba Center - Hockessin, DE

Bibliography

Bibref 1207 - Earth Medicine, Earth Food (1990) Michael A. Weiner
Bibref 307 - Edible and Useful Plants of Texas and the Southwest: Including recipes, harmful plants, natural dyes, and textile fibers: A Practical Guide (1999) Tull, D.
Bibref 610 - Edible wild plants of the prairie : an ethnobotanical guide (1987) Kindscher, K.
Bibref 417 - Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs of Eastern and Central North America (2000) Foster, S. & J. A. Duke
Bibref 1620 - Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Reprint Edition) (2009) Wasowski, S. with A. Wasowski
Bibref 946 - Gardening with Prairie Plants: How to Create Beautiful Native Landscapes (2002) Wasowski, Sally
Bibref 318 - Native Texas Plants: Landscaping Region by Region (2002) Wasowski, S. & A. Wasowski
Bibref 1209 - The Complete Book of Herbs (1988) Lesley Bremness
Bibref 1294 - The Midwestern Native Garden: Native Alternatives to Nonnative Flowers and Plants An Illustrated Guide (2011) Adelman, Charlotte and Schwartz, Bernard L.

Search More Titles in Bibliography

Web Reference

Webref 23 - Southwest Environmental Information Network (2009) SEINet - Arizona Chapter

Additional resources

USDA: Find Monarda fistulosa in USDA Plants
FNA: Find Monarda fistulosa in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Monarda fistulosa