Herbs · Profile
Bergamot Herb (Bee Balm): The North American Tea Herb Named for a Citrus
Say “bergamot” and you might think of Earl Grey. That’s the bergamot orange, an Italian citrus. On this site, bergamot means the herb: Monarda didyma, a North American member of the mint family that’s also sold as bee balm or Oswego tea, and it only borrowed the citrus’s name. Its leaves and flowers make an aromatic tea that tastes like a cross between oregano, thyme and mint with a citrus lift. The Oswego name comes from the Oswego people of upstate New York, who taught early settlers to brew it.
At a glance
| Botanical name | Monarda didyma L. |
| Plant family | Lamiaceae (mint family) |
| Other names | Scarlet beebalm, Oswego tea, bergamot, crimson beebalm |
| Part used | Leaves and flower heads, fresh or dried |
| Native range | Southeastern Canada to the eastern United States (Kew); see below for a wider USDA range12 |
| Key aroma compounds | Thymol, carvacrol and p-cymene, in proportions that vary by chemotype3 |
| Production figures | No published figure found |
| Forms sold | Plants and seed; dried leaf for tea |
Measured values
4 figures, sourced| Measure | Value | Scope | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carvacrol / p-cymene / thymol | 16.74 / 16.00 / 10.51 % of oil | flowering Monarda didyma grown at Urbino, Italy (carvacrol chemotype), 2022 study | peerj.com |
| Essential oil yield | 2.55 mL per kg of dry plant | flowering Monarda didyma grown at Urbino, Italy, 2022 study | peerj.com |
| Thymol | 51.7–59.3 % of oil | earlier Italian (Imola) chemotype, as reported in the 2022 paper | peerj.com |
| p-Cymene | 10.5–9.7 % of oil | earlier Italian (Imola) chemotype, as reported in the 2022 paperRange given in this order on the source page | peerj.com |
Each figure is quoted as its source states it, with the samples or standard it applies to. Where sources differ, both are shown; nothing is averaged. All measured values
Bergamot herb vs. bergamot orange
The two share a name and not much else:
| Bergamot herb (bee balm) | Bergamot orange | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A perennial herb of the mint family | A citrus tree from Italy |
| Part used | Leaves and flowers, for tea and salads | The fruit’s oil, used in perfumes and in Earl Grey tea |
The herb’s fragrance is reminiscent of true bergamot. We’re leaving the citrus aside here, along with the history and health claims that get passed around about it (its first description in the 17th century, the origin of eau de cologne, the legend of how Earl Grey was invented, its use as a “natural statin”).
What the herb is
Monarda didyma is a perennial of the temperate biome. Its leaves are opposite, ovate-lanceolate and pointed, 3 to 6 inches long. The flowers are scarlet red, tubular and two-lipped, and bloom from June through September.
Native range
The two botanical sources draw the native range differently:
| Source | Native range |
|---|---|
| Kew Plants of the World Online | Southeastern Canada to the eastern US: Ontario and New England south to Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi, west to Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee; introduced in Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin, and in Austria, Germany and European Russia1 |
| USDA plant guide | Eastern North America and Canada, from Quebec south through Maine to Georgia, and west to Minnesota and Missouri, as well as Washington and Oregon2 |
Kew treats Minnesota as an introduction; the USDA guide counts it as native. We go with Kew for botany, but you can see both.
Flavor and aroma
The fragrance is spicy, citrusy, peppery and minty, and the minty smell makes it a common potpourri plant. As a tea, it tastes like a cross between oregano, thyme and mint with a citrus lift.
The compounds
A 2022 study of oil distilled from flowering M. didyma grown in Urbino, Italy, found carvacrol (16.74%), p-cymene (16.00%) and thymol (10.51%) as the most abundant compounds, and classed the plants as a carvacrol chemotype. The oil yield was 2.55 mL per kg of dry plant. The same paper reports an earlier Italian chemotype dominated by thymol at 51.7 to 59.3%, and mentions linalool, geraniol and borneol chemotypes too:3
| Scope | Main compounds | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Flowering plants grown at Urbino, Italy (carvacrol chemotype) | Carvacrol 16.74%, p-cymene 16.00%, thymol 10.51% | 3 |
| Earlier Italian (Imola) chemotype, as reported in the same paper | Thymol 51.7–59.3%, p-cymene 10.5–9.7% | 3 |
The authors stress that composition differs markedly by chemotype, so no single profile describes “bergamot herb.”3 The USDA guide calls the plant a natural source of the antiseptic thymol.2
Origin and history
The name Oswego tea comes from the Oswego people of upstate New York, who, according to the USDA guide, taught early settlers to make it into an herbal tea. Settlers turned to it when regular tea was scarce, the guide adds, and as a replacement for black tea after high British taxation and the Boston Tea Party.2 Native Americans and colonists alike drank it as tea.
The USDA guide records extensive Native American medicinal use as well, including for bee stings and skin and mouth infections.2 Those are records of traditional use, not evidence that it works.
How it is used
- Tea. Dried leaves and flower heads make an aromatic tea.
- Salads. Fresh leaves and shoot tips are used to flavor salads.
- Flowers. The 2022 study notes that M. didyma flowers count among edible flowers suitable for human consumption.3 They make a bright garnish.
- Savory cooking. In small amounts, the leaves can stand in for thyme or oregano in meat dishes and stuffings.
Buying, growing and storage
It can turn weedy or invasive in some regions if you don’t manage it. We found no grading standard or shelf-life figure for the dried leaf. As with other dried herbs, your nose is the test.
Safety and health claims
The 2022 study found antioxidant activity in a DPPH assay and anti-inflammatory effects in vitro, in LPS-stimulated U937 cells.3 That’s lab work on cells, not a study in people. Claims that bergamot herb fights E. coli or staph infections in people couldn’t be traced to human evidence, and we’re not claiming it treats or prevents anything. We found no regulator assessment of bee balm as a food.
Substitutes and comparisons
Lemon balm, or spearmint with a little orange zest, covers the minty-citrus side. Thyme or oregano covers the savory side. See bergamot substitutes for ranked options. Related pages:
Footnotes
-
Monarda didyma L., Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. powo.science.kew.org · Reference work ↩ ↩2
-
Randall K. Lester and John Vandevender, Plant Guide for scarlet beebalm (Monarda didyma), USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, 2015. plants.sc.egov.usda.gov · Regulator ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5
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Fraternale et al., “Chemical composition, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of Monarda didyma L. essential oil”, PeerJ, 2022. peerj.com · Peer-reviewed ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7
Also drawn on
- A Tempest in a Teapot: Alternative Plants to Traditional Tea (Erin Clark, 2 July 2021), Smithsonian Gardens. gardens.si.edu