Medicinal Monday...Wild Bergamot

Wild Bergamot is a fragrant showy plant that has many medicinal uses. This hardy plant is a perennial wildflower that is native to most of North America. Many Native American communities found this plant useful for medicinal purposes. There are also accounts of members of the Hidatsa that would crush the leaves of this fragrant plant and use it to perfume their clothes. Bachelors in the Dakota community would carry bunches of the plant in their coats to emit a pleasant fragrance. The Kutenai placed the leaves on hot rocks in a sweathouse and used this plant as incense.  The Omaha used the leaves as a perfume for their hair. The Cheyenne chewed the leaves and used them as a perfume for horses. The stems, leaves, and flowers were sometimes used as pillow stuffing because of this plant's pleasant fragrance.

About Wild Bergamot

Wild Bergamont is also known as Monarda fistulosa is in the Mint family. It grows in prairies, open meadows, woods, and roadsides. It is a perennial herb also known as Bee Balm or Oswego Tea that can be found in 48 states in North America and in northern Mexico and southern Canada. It can grow up to four feet high and is characterized by lance-shaped leaves up to four inches in length and clusters of tubular-shaped pink to purple flowers up to three inches wide. This plant blooms from June through September and prefers full sun. It is considered to be drought resistant and can tolerate a wide range of soil including sand. This plant will not be found in Florida, Hawaii, or California.

Medicinal Uses

Wild Bergamot has been used by many Native American communities and is considered to be a very important plant for its useful medicinal and food uses. The Blackfoot used an infusion of the plant to treat coughs and made a poultice of the flower head and applied it to treat wounds and cuts. They also made a solution to treat sore eyes. Many communities chewed the root for swollen neck glands. The Cherokee used a poultice of leaves to treat headaches, and colds, and as a treatment for colic. They also used a hot infusion of the leaf to bring out measles and to treat stomach trouble. An infusion of the leaf or root was taken orally and wiped on the forehead to treat nosebleeds. The Chippewa chewed leaves and placed them in their nose to treat headaches. They also made a decoction of the roots and blossoms to treat worms. The Choctaw rubbed the plant on a child's chest for pain. The Crow made an infusion and took it for respiratory problems. The Dakota made an infusion of the flowers and took it to treat abdominal pain. The Flathead would hang plants on walls for colds and make an infusion to treat coughs, chills, and fever. The Koasati would bathe in a decoction of leaves to alleviate the chills. The Ojibwe used the leaves to treat headaches and would place the leaves in their nostrils to induce sneezing. They also made a decoction of the root to treat stomach pain.  Many communities would use the oil in the plant to treat bronchitis and would seep the flowers and leaves into a tea to treat the flu. The Navajo used a cold infusion of the plant as a wash for headaches and the Lakota used an infusion of the leaves for fainting. The Sioux used an infusion of blossoms for colds and fevers and chills. The Winnebago used a decoction of leaves to treat skin eruptions such as pimples.

Culinary Uses

Many communities including the Cherokee, Lakota, Hopi, Pueblo, Spanish Americans, and Tewa use this plant as food, and some dried it and stored it for the winter. The Apache and Iroquois used the leaves to make a drink out of the leaves. The Isleta and Laguna used the plant as a seasoning for meat and stews. The Blackfoot used the dried flowerheads for sucking broth or soup. The Flathead would pulverize the leaves and sprinkle them on meats as a preservative. The Acoma ground the leaves and mixed them with sausage for seasoning. The Apache would boil young leaves and stems to make a non-intoxicating drink.

Did You Know...

Wild Bergamot is attractive to bees as well as other pollinators including butterflies. It is an important source of nectar for bees.

One of the most common contemporary uses of Monarda fistulosa is as an ornamental plant.

It is also grown to help facilitate prairie restoration and to restore forage for wild bees. 

Carvacrol is a chemical derived from Wild Bergamot which has been shown to have antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anticancer properties. 

This plant has also shown some value as a mosquito repellant.