Monarda citriodora

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Monarda citriodora
Monarda citriodora.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Monarda
Species:
M. citriodora
Binomial name
Monarda citriodora

Monarda citriodora is a species of flowering plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae, that is native to the southern United States [2] and northern Mexico. [1] [3] Common names include lemon beebalm, [4] [2] lemon mint (this may also apply to Eau de Cologne mint or Melissa officinalis ) and purple horsemint. When crushed, the leaves emit an odor reminiscent of lemons. This odor is sometimes described as more resembling oregano, especially late in the season. Its purple flowers are highly attractive to butterflies, bees and hummingbirds. [5]

Contents

Description

Lemon beebalm can tolerate dry soil, and requires little water and direct sun light. Several stems grow from the base and are lined with pairs of lance-shaped leaves. It grows quickly during spring, reaching up to 90 centimetres (3 ft) high, and blooms its white, purple and pink colored flowers from May through July (in the northern hemisphere), continuing to bloom even later in the year if given water. [6] The plant dies with the first frost, and although lemon beebalm is an annual, its seeds can germinate and grow the following year. The Latin specific epithet citriodora means having a citrus aroma. [5]

Habitat and range

This widespread plant grows in prairies, roadsides and other sunny habitats from Arizona to Florida, and from Nebraska to Michoacán. [6] It prefers soils with a high percentage of clay, such as the vertisols and mollisols typical of tallgrass prairies, where it sometimes forms impressive blankets of summer flowers.[ citation needed ]

Varieties [7]
  1. Monarda citriodora var. austromontana(Epling) B.L.Turner - Arizona, New Mexico, Chihuahua, Sonora, and elsewhere in Mexico
  2. Monarda citriodora var. citriodora - Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Utah, Texas, Tamaulipas
  3. Monarda citriodora var. parvaScora - southern Texas

Uses

Culinary

Some people use lemon beebalm as an addition to salads and teas. It's also used sometimes in wines and liqueurs. It can give a good flavor to certain seafood and meat dishes too, such as crab and chicken. Lemon beebalm is an ingredient in many dessert recipes, and is used for flavoring in cakes, cheesecakes, sauces, and pies. [6]

But most recipes bearing the name "lemon mint" actually used spearmint and the juice or other components of the actual fruit of the lemon plant rather than this plant. However, lemon beebalm is occasionally used in herbal teas. [6]

Medicinal

Teas made from the leaves is used by herbalists to supposedly treat colds, coughs, fevers, and respiratory problems. [8]

Insect repellent

The essential oil of lemon beebalm contains citronellol, which makes it useful as an insect repellent. It has been used to deter fleas and mites. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lemon balm</span> Species of plant

Lemon balm is a perennial herbaceous plant in the mint family and native to south-central Europe, the Mediterranean Basin, Iran, and Central Asia, but now naturalised elsewhere.

<i>Monarda didyma</i> Aromatic ornamental herb, Lamiaceae

Monarda didyma, the crimson beebalm, scarlet beebalm, scarlet monarda, Eau-de-Cologne plant, Oswego tea, or bergamot, is an aromatic herb in the family Lamiaceae, native to eastern North America from Maine west to Ontario and Minnesota, and south to northern Georgia. Its odor is considered similar to that of the bergamot orange, which is used to flavor Earl Grey tea. The genus name comes from Nicolas Monardes, who described the first American flora in 1569.

<i>Monarda</i> Genus of flowering plants

Monarda is a genus of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. The genus is endemic to North America. Common names include bergamot, bee balm, horsemint, and oswego tea, the first being inspired by the fragrance of the leaves, which is reminiscent of bergamot orange. The genus was named for the Spanish botanist Nicolás Monardes, who wrote a book in 1574 describing plants of the New World.

<i>Echinacea angustifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Echinacea angustifolia, the narrow-leaved purple coneflower or blacksamson echinacea, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to North America, where it is widespread across much of the Great Plains of central Canada and the central United States, with additional populations in surrounding regions.

<i>Oenothera speciosa</i> Species of flowering plant

Oenothera speciosa is a species in the evening primrose family known by several common names, including pinkladies, pink evening primrose, showy evening primrose, Mexican primrose, and buttercups.

<i>Thelesperma filifolium</i> Species of flowering plant

Thelesperma filifolium, commonly known as stiff greenthread, or plains greenthread, is a species of flowering plant in the aster family, Asteraceae. It is often found growing in shallow soils. It prefers disturbed sites in dry, sandy or gravelly soil with a neutral to basic pH. Stiff greenthread adapts to various soil conditions, including loam, clay, caliche, and roadsides. It blooms between March and June and often into the fall.

<i>Cunila origanoides</i> Species of flowering plant

Cunila origanoides, with the common names stone mint, frost mint, dittany, and American dittany, is a perennial late-summer-flowering subshrub with small purple flowers that is native to the central and eastern United States. It belongs to the Lamiaceae (mint) family and is the only species in the Cunila genus native to the United States. It grows in habitats such as dry forests and the thin soil around rock outcrops. This species has historically been cultivated for use as a medicinal herb, tea, and ornamental plant.

Mrs. Burns' Lemon basil is an heirloom cultivar of sweet basil from New Mexico in the United States. Compared to lemon basil, which is a different species of basil, in Mrs. Burns lemon basil the lemon flavor is more intense, the leaves are larger, and the plant itself is more robust.

<i>Monarda fistulosa</i> Species of flowering plant

Monarda fistulosa, the wild bergamot or bee balm, is a wildflower in the mint family Lamiaceae, widespread and abundant as a native plant in much of North America. This plant, with showy summer-blooming pink to lavender flowers, is often used as a honey plant, medicinal plant, and garden ornamental. The species is quite variable, and several subspecies or varieties have been recognized within it.

<i>Sambucus racemosa</i> Species of plant

Sambucus racemosa is a species of elderberry known by the common names red elderberry and red-berried elder.

<i>Monarda punctata</i> Species of flowering plant

Monarda punctata is a herbaceous plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae, that is native to eastern Canada, the eastern United States and northeastern Mexico. Common names include spotted beebalm and horsemint.

<i>Geranium caespitosum</i> Species of flowering plant

Geranium caespitosum, the purple cluster geranium or pineywoods geranium, is a perennial herb native to the western United States and northern Mexico. Its US distribution includes Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.

<i>Zinnia grandiflora</i> Species of flowering plant

Zinnia grandiflora is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names Rocky Mountains zinnia and plains zinnia. It is native to the southwestern and south-central United States and northern Mexico. Zinnia Grandiflora is used by many Native American tribes for its medicinal properties as well as for its vibrant yellow color for paint and dyes. there have also been experiments done using Zinnia Grandiflora to understand the extent of it's healing abilities.

<i>Liatris punctata</i> Species of flowering plant

Liatris punctata is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names dotted gayfeather, dotted blazingstar, and narrow-leaved blazingstar. It is native to North America, where it occurs throughout the plains of central Canada, the central United States, and northern Mexico.

<i>Agastache cana</i> Species of flowering plant

Agastache cana, more commonly known as the mosquito plant, Texas hummingbird mint, and double bubble mint, is a hardy perennial belonging to the genus Agastache. The genus name Agastache is derived from the Greek word meaning "a lot of", and stachy, meaning "spike", which refers to the flower's 12 terminal spikes that decorate the plant. These spikes remain through the growing season from early summer to late fall. The Mosquito Plant is native to New Mexico and western Texas, where it grows in mountainous areas at altitudes of 6,000 feet.

<i>Helianthus petiolaris</i> Species of sunflower

Helianthus petiolaris is a North American plant species in the family Asteraceae, commonly known as the prairie sunflower or lesser sunflower. Naturalist and botanist Thomas Nuttall was the first to describe the prairie sunflower in 1821. The word petiolaris in Latin means, “having a petiole”. The species originated in Western United States, but has since expanded east. The prairie sunflower is sometimes considered a weed.

<i>Monarda bradburiana</i> Species of flowering plant

Monarda bradburiana, the eastern beebalm or Bradbury's beebalm, is a species of perennial flowering plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae, that is native to much of the southeastern United States.

Monarda viridissima is a species of flowering plant in the mint family. It is commonly known as green beebalm and Texas beebalm.

Monarda russeliana is a species of flowering plant in the mint family. It is commonly known as redpurple beebalm and Russell's beebalm.

References

  1. 1 2 "Monarda citriodora". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 2011-10-09.
  2. 1 2 "Monarda citriodora Cerv. ex Lag. lemon beebalm". USDA PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2011-10-09.
  3. Debaggio, Thomas; Tucker, Arthur O. (2009). The Encyclopedia of Herbs. p. 321. ISBN   9781604691344 . Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  4. BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  5. 1 2 "Monarda citriodora - Plant Finder". www.missouribotanicalgarden.org.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin". www.wildflower.org.
  7. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant families
  8. Garrett, Howard; Odena Brannam (2001). Herbs for Texas. University of Texas Press. pp. 112–113. ISBN   978-0-292-72830-1.
  9. Turner, Matt (2009). Remarkable Plants of Texas: Uncommon Accounts of Our Common Natives. Austin: University of Texas Press. pp. 241–243. ISBN   978-0-292-71851-7.