Plant Database

From the Image Gallery

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial
Habit: Herb
Leaf Retention: Deciduous
Fruit Type: Nut
Size Notes: Up to about 3 feet tall.
Fruit: Nutlets.

Bloom Information

Bloom Color: White , Pink , Yellow , Green , Purple
Bloom Time: Apr , May , Jun , Jul , Aug , Sep
Bloom Notes: While the flowers of this plant are usually yellow with maroon markings on the upper petals, they may also be white or green. However, the bracts are showier and may be purple, pink, white or yellow.

Distribution

USA: AL , AR , CA , CT , DC , DE , FL , GA , IA , IL , IN , KS , KY , LA , MA , MD , MI , MN , MO , MS , NC , NJ , NM , NY , OH , OK , PA , SC , TN , TX , VA , VT , WI
Canada: ON
Native Distribution: VT to MN, s. to TX, NM & n. to KS, through to e. coast. Isolated in CA.
Native Habitat: Prairie, Plains, Meadows, Pastures, Savannas

Growing Conditions

Water Use: Low
Light Requirement: Sun
Soil Moisture: Dry
Soil pH: Circumneutral (pH 6.8-7.2)
Soil Description: Dry, sandy soils
Conditions Comments: The tubular flowers are pale yellow spotted with purple on top of bracts that are white to light purple. Leaves smell like fine Greek oregano. This plant is propagated by seed sown in situ or in pots and transplanted to sandy, well drained soil. It can also be propagated by cuttings of young foliage. Drought tolerant but summer watering can keep plants fresh and blooming longer. Spotted beebalm can become aggressive. It is noticeably fragrant. Two other common subspecies of Monarda punctata are Monarda punctata ssp. punctata, occurring in sandy soil on the coastal plain from VA to KY, s. to FL & TX; and Monarda punctata ssp. occidentalis, occurring from s.w. IL to KS, s.w. to TX & NM. All Monarda species are susceptible to powdery mildew.

Benefit

Use Ornamental: Wildflower meadow, Pocket prairie
Use Wildlife: Insect pollinated.
Use Medicinal: Fresh leaves crushed and steeped in cold water drunk to ease backache; used for fever, inflammation and chills. (Weiner)
Conspicuous Flowers: yes
Attracts: Butterflies
Nectar Source: yes

Value to Beneficial Insects

Special Value to Native Bees
Special Value to Bumble Bees
Special Value to Honey Bees
Supports Conservation Biological Control

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

Propagation

Description: Easily propagated from untreated seed sown in fall or stratified seed sown in spring.
Seed Collection: Collect in Sep. or Oct.
Seed Treatment: Dry or moist stratification
Commercially Avail: yes

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.

National Wetland Indicator Status

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

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:

Brackenridge Field Laboratory - Austin, TX
Native Seed Network - Corvallis, OR

Herbarium Specimen(s)

NPSOT 0160 Collected May 22, 1991 in Bexar County by Lottie Millsaps

Bibliography

Bibref 1207 - Earth Medicine, Earth Food (1990) Michael A. Weiner
Bibref 946 - Gardening with Prairie Plants: How to Create Beautiful Native Landscapes (2002) Wasowski, Sally
Bibref 765 - McMillen's Texas Gardening: Wildflowers (1998) Howard, D.
Bibref 1294 - The Midwestern Native Garden: Native Alternatives to Nonnative Flowers and Plants An Illustrated Guide (2011) Adelman, Charlotte and Schwartz, Bernard L.
Bibref 328 - Wildflowers of Texas (2003) Ajilvsgi, Geyata.
Bibref 286 - Wildflowers of the Texas Hill Country (1989) Enquist, M.

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Web Reference

Webref 80 - Illinois Wildflowers (2002) John Hilty
Webref 23 - Southwest Environmental Information Network (2009) SEINet - Arizona Chapter

Research Literature

Reslit 464 - Spatial and temporal variation in natural enemy assemblages on Maryland native plant species (2008) S. D. Frank, P. M. Shrewsbury and O. Esiekpe
Reslit 537 - Nectar plant selection by the Karner blue butterfly (Lycaeides melissa samuelis) at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore (2000) R. Grundel, N. B. Pavlovic and C. L. Sulzman
Reslit 1181 - Assessment of heat-expanded slate and fertility requirements in green roof substrates (2006) D. B. Rowe, M. A. Monterusso and C. L. Rugh
Reslit 2402 - Monarda humilis (Lamiaceae), a new combination for a species from New Mexico, and a key to the species of section Cheilyctis (2003) L. A. Prather and J. A. Keith
Reslit 2625 - Performance of 67 native midwestern US perennials in a low-maintenance landscape (2004) A. L. Thomas, D. Schrock

This information was provided by the Florida WIldflower Foundation.
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Additional resources

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