Thursday, March 11, 2010

Monarda fistulosa seeds

[Photo: Monarda fistulosa seeds. Seed packet reads: Monarda fistulosa, Wild Bergamot or Beebalm. Useful as an ornamental, medicinal & honey plant. It's found in rich soils, dry fields, thickets & clearings, usually in limey soil. It spreads with rhizomes and grows in large clumps. 2-3 ft. tall. Flowers June to August. All of the plant is fragrant and useful. Produces an antiseptic called thymol - an active ingredient in mouthwashes. A traditional medicine of many native tribes who used it for skin infections, wounds & treating mouth/throat infections, dental caries & gingivitis. Nectar attracts long-tongued bees, butterflies, skippers & moths. Also visited by ruby-throated hummingbird. HIGH PARK VSP 2006.]I was enchanted to see wild bergamot (monarde fistuleuse) blooming in High Park last summer, so when I saw this packet of seeds from the High Park Volunteer Stewardship Program at Seedy Saturday in Scarborough, I snatched them up!

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