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A Forager’s Year

No. 90

Wild bergamot

Monarda fistulosa

wild bee balm

Flowers, buds & pollen flower heads (florets), fresh or dried

Drawing: Britton & Brown, Illustrated Flora (1913)

Find
Common in the right habitat
Effort
Grab & eat
ID risk
Beginner
Origin
native
Uses
  • Eat raw / salad
  • Baking & desserts
  • Jam & jelly
  • Syrup & cordial
  • Tea

Season

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

in season peak

Picking: No park we checked allows it. Anywhere else, ask whoever owns or runs the land. See Where you may pick.

What these mean

Find

1 Everywhere · 2 Common in the right habitat · 3 Patchy · 4 Elusive. This is about how much there is, not whether you may pick it. It is based on iNaturalist sightings within 25 km (about 15 miles) of downtown DC, counted on October 3, 2026. The four rules that each plant’s “Find” reason refers to: (A) the estimate is the confirmed sightings, plus the unconfirmed ones (scaled down where the plant has lookalikes in its genus), plus the sightings marked as planted; (B) the tier by estimate: 1,500 or more is tier 1, 250–1,499 tier 2, 50–249 tier 3, under 50 tier 4; (C) tier 1, Everywhere, also needs a source saying the plant is common in lawns, sidewalks, yards or gardens, vacant lots or towns, or at least one DC street tree of it per km of sidewalk, otherwise it is tier 2; (D) if a reliable source says the plant is rare in this region, or that wild plants rarely bear the harvest, only planted sightings count. iNaturalist is a website and phone app where people post photos of the plants and animals they see. A sighting is “research grade” when other users have confirmed what it is; “needs ID” sightings are not confirmed yet, and “cultivated” ones are marked as planted.

Effort

1 Grab & eat · 2 Quick kitchen prep (under about 30 minutes) · 3 Real work (hours, or cooking needed for safety) · 4 Project (days or equipment). Scored on the simplest worthwhile use; each plant’s page says why.

ID risk

How hard it is to harvest safely. Beginner: no dangerous lookalike, and the edible part is not easily confused with a toxic part. Careful: a toxic lookalike, or toxic parts that end up in the harvest unless removed (for example elderberry stems, unripe ground cherries), or other parts of the plant rated medium-or-higher toxicity, with reliable features to separate them. Expert only: a potentially deadly lookalike that is hard to separate, or (for not-recommended harvests like pokeweed) a plant whose safe preparation can’t be guaranteed. Toxic parts that are obviously separate and thrown away anyway (pits, seeds, skins) don’t raise it; the Toxic parts mark carries that warning.

Native or not, and the invader stars

Origin is where the plant comes from: native, non-native, or mixed (the harvest covers both). The stars rate plants on invasive plant lists: ★★★ Virginia DCR “High” or Maryland prohibited invasive · ★★ Virginia “Medium” · ★ Virginia “Low” · ☆ listed only by the Maryland Invasive Species Council or the Mid-Atlantic Plant Invaders guide (advisory) · no stars: native or not listed.

Seasons

Start, peak and end are given in thirds of a month: early, mid or late. A plant counts as in season for a month if it is in season at any point in that month. Some greens and roots have a second window, in spring or fall; their page shows each window. A season that runs across New Year is shown as one window.

What it looks like

The shaggy flower heads of wild bergamot, a native mint-family perennial 2 to 4 feet tall with square stems and aromatic, oregano-scented leaves (NC State; Edible Wild Food). Each head is a ragged pompom (Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center) of about 20 to 50 lavender, tube-shaped flowers (Practical Self Reliance), sometimes pink (Edible Wild Food), resting on a whorl of pinkish leafy bracts (NC State); the flowers open first in the center of the head and then toward its edge (Edible Wild Food). Bee balm blossoms usually reflect the flavor of the plant, with hints of oregano, thyme or citrus (Eat The Weeds), and Practical Self Reliance calls wild bergamot’s blooms spicy.

Safety

NC State lists no toxicity for wild bergamot and calls its leaves edible, and Plants For A Future lists no known hazards. Wild bergamot plants carry either thymol or carvacrol as their main scent compound, the compounds that give thyme and oregano their scents (Ecology and Evolution, 2022). Eat The Weeds advises keeping tea of the related spotted horsemint intentionally weak and says that large amounts taken internally can be fatal; no safety source checked confirms such a warning for this plant. WebMD’s consumer monograph calls Oswego tea, made from the related scarlet beebalm, likely unsafe in pregnancy because it might start a period; no safety source checked confirms this for wild bergamot or basil-balm. US food rules list horsemint (spotted beebalm) among the plant extracts generally recognized as safe for flavoring food; wild bergamot and basil-balm are not on that list (FDA, 21 CFR 182.20). No toxic lookalike is named. Harmless lookalikes: scarlet beebalm, the red-flowered bee balm of gardens (NC State; Edible Wild Food); lemon bergamot, which smells of citrus and has flowers in tiered clusters along the stem, and American wild mint, which is shorter with flowers in tiered clusters above the upper leaves (Practical Self Reliance); purple bergamot, with reddish-purple flowers and purplish bracts (NC State); and garden thyme, a low woody herb with tiny leaves (Edible Wild Food; NC State). Garden plants with severe powdery mildew may be sprayed with fungicide (NC State), so ask before picking planted clumps.

Lookalikes

Safety flags

Safety marks and flags: what this means

Deadly lookalike / Toxic lookalike: a cited source names a lookalike of that danger, recorded near DC (an iNaturalist sighting within 25 km, a DC street tree, or a Smithsonian listing for DC) and looking like the part you eat. Other lookalikes are still listed, marked “not recorded near DC” or as not looking like the part you eat. Deadly means a source says eating it may be fatal or calls it deadly, or NC State rates it high severity with life-threatening symptoms (sources sometimes disagree; for example Virginia creeper). Each plant’s Lookalikes list says how to tell them apart; “harmless (may be edible)” lookalikes are listed so you know a mix-up isn’t dangerous. Cook first: cooking is needed for safety (for daylilies it is a precaution, not a sourced requirement). Eat in moderation: a source says to limit quantity or frequency (for example oxalates in sorrels and dock, ginkgotoxin, safrole). Spray risk: a source says the plant is commonly treated with herbicide in parks or lawns (invasive control, lawn weeds) or, for ginkgo, sprayed to stop fruiting. Contamination: a source says the plant concentrates pollutants. Each plant’s Safety flags list gives the details and sources.

ID risk
Beginner
Why
No toxic lookalike is named. Scarlet beebalm (scarlet flowers), lemon bergamot (citrus scent, flowers in tiers along the stem), purple bergamot (reddish-purple flowers), American wild mint (shorter, flowers in tiers above the upper leaves) and garden thyme (a low woody herb with tiny leaves) are harmless; wild bergamot carries a single shaggy lavender or pink head on each stem tip and has oregano-scented leaves.
Soil risk
moderate
ID risk: what this means

How hard it is to harvest safely. Beginner: no dangerous lookalike, and the edible part is not easily confused with a toxic part. Careful: a toxic lookalike, or toxic parts that end up in the harvest unless removed (for example elderberry stems, unripe ground cherries), or other parts of the plant rated medium-or-higher toxicity, with reliable features to separate them. Expert only: a potentially deadly lookalike that is hard to separate, or (for not-recommended harvests like pokeweed) a plant whose safe preparation can’t be guaranteed. Toxic parts that are obviously separate and thrown away anyway (pits, seeds, skins) don’t raise it; the Toxic parts mark carries that warning.

Soil risk: what this means

Based on the part you eat, following the urban-soil lead guidance on the Field safety page: higher for greens, shoots and roots; moderate for flowers; low for fruit, nuts and sap.

Field safety for every outing (poison ivy, ticks, soil, and more)

When to pick

Starts
mid Jun
Peak
late Jun–mid Jul
Ends
early Sep

Around DC wild bergamot starts to bloom in mid June, and flowering records within 25 km are most frequent from late June to mid July (iNaturalist). University of Maryland Extension gives July to August for its bloom in Maryland, NC State June to September, and Practical Self Reliance says a plant blooms for about six weeks. A few plants still flower in early September. Pick individual flower heads just before peak bloom (Herb Society of America).

How the dates were worked out

Every start, peak and end was re-checked in October 2026. “Sourced” means a source opened during the check states that timing for the DC or Mid-Atlantic area. “Estimated” means no source states it exactly; the reason, the evidence and the source links are under “How the dates were worked out” on each plant’s page. Peaks are often estimated, because few sources name a peak. iNaturalist evidence means research-grade sightings near DC, by month, of the plant at that stage (for example, in fruit). iNaturalist is a website and phone app where people post photos of the plants and animals they see. A sighting is “research grade” when other users have confirmed what it is; “needs ID” sightings are not confirmed yet, and “cultivated” ones are marked as planted.

Season basis: estimated: peak, end

Start

sourced

Peak

estimated: No source names a peak. DC records, most of them showing the flowers, are most frequent from about June 23 to July 13 (weeks 26 to 28), so the peak is placed in late June to mid July.

End

estimated: The Maryland source ends bloom in August, while NC State and the Wildflower Center run into September and a DC plant was still flowering in mid September; the end is placed in early September with the tail noted.

Evidence

start: NC State: 'This plant blooms from June to September.' Practical Self Reliance: 'Depending on where you live and the yearly weather conditions, you may spot Wild Bergamot blooming between June and September. Typically, it blooms for about six weeks.' iNaturalist (25 km of DC, research grade) flowering-annotated records by week: week 24: 1, 25: 4 (mid June). | peak: iNaturalist (25 km of DC) flowering-annotated records by week: 26: 6, 27: 5, 28: 7, 29: 2; all records by week: 25: 50, 26: 78, 27: 92, 28: 95, 29: 51, 30: 23. University of Maryland Extension: 'Bloom Season: July-Aug'. | end: University of Maryland Extension: 'Bloom Season: July-Aug'. NC State: 'This plant blooms from June to September.' Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: 'Bloom Time: May , Jun , Jul , Aug , Sep'. iNaturalist (25 km of DC) flowering-annotated records: one in week 32 (early August) and one in week 38 (mid September).

Where to look

Dry meadows, old fields and woods edges, and widely planted in native-plant and pollinator gardens; logged most at Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens, along Four Mile Run and in Rock Creek Park, where picking is not allowed, and at the National Zoo, whose picking rules were not checked. No listed park allows picking leaves or flowers, so pick from your own or a friend’s garden or other private land with permission.

Habitats
old fields & meadows, woods edges, trailsides & thickets, upland oak-hickory woods
Habitats: what this means

Listed where the plant’s own sources place it in that habitat. “Disturbed ground & waste places” means a cited source places it on disturbed areas, sites, soil or ground, on waste places or waste ground, on construction or abandoned building sites (old home sites count), on rubble or in strip mines. When the source gives examples of the disturbed places, at least one example must be of that kind. Examples that do not count: natural or forestry disturbance (treefall gaps, fire, windthrow, flood scour, old riverbanks and creeks, clear-cuts); roadsides, railroads and rights-of-way; and abandoned fields, pastures and farmland, which are “Old fields & meadows”. “Vacant lots” only where a source says vacant or empty lots.

Most-logged places

None of the most-logged places allows picking.

Ask first: rules unclear or not checked

  • Smithsonian National Zoo

    17 sightings · Legal to pick: unknown · see them on iNaturalist

    Picking rules not checked. A federal facility, so ask before picking anything.

No picking here (4 places)
  • Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens

    32 sightings · Legal to pick: no · see them on iNaturalist

    Look but don’t pick: Kenilworth is a NACE site that is not on the compendium’s list of gathering areas.

  • Four Mile Run stream valley (Arlington/Alexandria)

    23 sightings · Legal to pick: no · see them on iNaturalist

    Look but don’t pick: Arlington County park rules (flora shall not be removed or disturbed) and Alexandria’s permit rule both apply.

  • Rock Creek Park

    23 sightings · Legal to pick: no · see them on iNaturalist

    Look but don’t pick: Rock Creek Park’s compendium bans gathering any fruit, nut, berry, seed or greenery.

  • Cabin John Regional Park

    15 sightings · Legal to pick: no · see them on iNaturalist

    Look but don’t pick: Montgomery/Prince George’s parks (M-NCPPC) ban harvesting vegetation without a permit.

Most-logged places: what this means

The places with the most research-grade iNaturalist sightings within 25 km of downtown DC (re-counted in October 2026 over every named place, campuses, condominiums and private grounds included), each marked legal to pick or not. A sighting inside several named places counts once, for the smallest of them, but a sighting inside a National Park Service park never counts for a private, campus or unchecked place. iNaturalist shows where people walk and log plants, not true abundance. Private campuses, condominiums, museums, estates and utility land (Pepco’s power-line land near Sligo Creek) are marked “no” (pick only with the owner’s permission); public university campuses, city parks and other places whose picking rules were not checked (county stormwater land, the U.S. Capitol Grounds, Greenbelt’s North Woods, federal facilities such as the National Zoo) are “unknown”. A place needs at least 2 sightings, so plants with very few sightings have no places. At-risk plants (butternut, nannyberry, American chestnut, ramps, riverbank goldenrod) get places like every other plant; each page says why the plant is at risk and gives any advice its sources give. For some places, mostly Rock Creek Park, the iNaturalist map shows more sightings than the count here, because a map link cannot leave out exactly the sightings credited to another place. iNaturalist is a website and phone app where people post photos of the plants and animals they see. A sighting is “research grade” when other users have confirmed what it is; “needs ID” sightings are not confirmed yet, and “cultivated” ones are marked as planted.

Ways to use it

  • edible garnish for salads (Plants For A Future; Edible Wild Food)
  • tea from fresh or dried flowers (Edible Wild Food; Herb Society of America)
  • eat fresh as a snack in the field (Practical Self Reliance)
  • bee balm cookies, with chopped fresh or dried flowers and leaves (Edible Wild Food)
  • syrup and jelly, or candied flowers (Practical Self Reliance)
  • harvest individual flower heads just before peak bloom (Herb Society of America)

Keeping

Use within a few days, or dry them for tea; there is no tested canning recipe.

Use within
within a few days
Keeps fresh
A few days in the refrigerator (general guidance for fresh herbs; Ohio State).
Keeping basis
general guidance for its type

Ways to keep it

  • Dry as researched: dry/dehydrate (tea or seasoning); canning: n/a (not shelf-canned)

    Edible Wild Food: fresh or dried flowers can be brewed into tea. NCHFP (general guidance for herbs): dry the flowers in warm, dry air out of the sun, in small bunches so they do not mold.

Canning: what this means

Shelf-stable canning, three levels. Lab-tested: a lab-tested recipe from the National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP) or Oregon State covers this fruit and product, or a generic recipe for its kind (the line says so, for example chokeberry). Extension recipe: a published Extension recipe (University of Alaska Fairbanks, written for Alaska species; University of Maine’s dandelion jelly), or a process that is safe only with a pH meter; follow it exactly, never improvise. No tested recipe: refrigerate or freeze, don’t can. “Hot-bottled syrup” = maple and walnut syrup, which keep when bottled hot at full syrup density. The Canning line names the exact product each source covers, for example “whole berries” or “juice”; a product not named there (such as juice from a berry with only a whole-berry recipe) has no tested recipe.

Keeping basis: what this means

“Specific to this plant” or “general guidance for its type” (for example NCHFP guidance for leafy greens applied to a wild green).

Nutrition

Not researched: in October 2026, only the calendar’s plants of the month and chicory leaves were researched.

Native or not

Origin
native
Native range
southern Canada and most of the US east of the Rockies, south to eastern Mexico
Virginia invasive rank
not listed
Maryland invasive status
not listed
Native or not, and the invader stars: what this means

Origin is where the plant comes from: native, non-native, or mixed (the harvest covers both). The stars rate plants on invasive plant lists: ★★★ Virginia DCR “High” or Maryland prohibited invasive · ★★ Virginia “Medium” · ★ Virginia “Low” · ☆ listed only by the Maryland Invasive Species Council or the Mid-Atlantic Plant Invaders guide (advisory) · no stars: native or not listed.

Virginia DCR, Virginia Invasive Plant Species List (effective September 2024), verbatim: "Under the DCR Invasive Species Assessment Protocol, approved by the Virginia Invasive Species Working Group, January 2024, species were ranked as exhibiting high, medium or low levels of invasiveness based on their threat to natural communities and native species. Invasiveness rank is higher for species that: • Alter ecosystem processes, such as succession, hydrology or fire regime. • Are capable of invading undisturbed natural communities. • Cause substantial impacts on rare or vulnerable species or natural communities or high-quality examples of more common communities. • Are found widely distributed and generally abundant where present. • Disperse readily to new areas. • Are difficult to control." The list also states: "The list is for educational purposes only and has no regulatory authority."

Maryland Department of Agriculture, Maryland Prohibited Invasive Plant Law and Regulations page, verbatim: "Plants on the Maryland Prohibited Invasive Plant List may not be added to stock after the effective date and should not be sold after their phase-out period ends."

No official DC invasive plant list was found.

How the ratings were set

Find
Common in the right habitat Estimate 901 = 503 research-grade iNaturalist sightings within 25 km + 122 needs-ID sightings counted at 78% (503 of the 643 research-grade Monarda sightings here are wild bergamot) + 303 'cultivated' (planted) sightings (rule A); that is tier 2 by count (rule B). Rule D does not apply: the Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora says wild bergamot is "rare in the Coastal Plain" but, in the same entry, "frequent in the Piedmont", and the 25 km circle takes in both. Final tier 2.
Effort
Grab & eat Pick flower heads and pull the florets to eat or scatter on salads; tea, cookies or syrup is a 2.
Find: what this means

1 Everywhere · 2 Common in the right habitat · 3 Patchy · 4 Elusive. This is about how much there is, not whether you may pick it. It is based on iNaturalist sightings within 25 km (about 15 miles) of downtown DC, counted on October 3, 2026. The four rules that each plant’s “Find” reason refers to: (A) the estimate is the confirmed sightings, plus the unconfirmed ones (scaled down where the plant has lookalikes in its genus), plus the sightings marked as planted; (B) the tier by estimate: 1,500 or more is tier 1, 250–1,499 tier 2, 50–249 tier 3, under 50 tier 4; (C) tier 1, Everywhere, also needs a source saying the plant is common in lawns, sidewalks, yards or gardens, vacant lots or towns, or at least one DC street tree of it per km of sidewalk, otherwise it is tier 2; (D) if a reliable source says the plant is rare in this region, or that wild plants rarely bear the harvest, only planted sightings count. iNaturalist is a website and phone app where people post photos of the plants and animals they see. A sighting is “research grade” when other users have confirmed what it is; “needs ID” sightings are not confirmed yet, and “cultivated” ones are marked as planted.

Effort: what this means

1 Grab & eat · 2 Quick kitchen prep (under about 30 minutes) · 3 Real work (hours, or cooking needed for safety) · 4 Project (days or equipment). Scored on the simplest worthwhile use; each plant’s page says why.

Sources

35 sources, each linked to the original.

  1. Rock Creek Park Superintendent’s Compendium National Park ServiceBacks up: picking rules
  2. 36 CFR 2.1 - Preservation of natural, cultural and archeological resources Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School (text of federal regulation)Backs up: picking rules
  3. Edible Flowers Part One (Green Deane) Eat The WeedsBacks up: description
  4. Monarda fistulosa (Wild Bergamot) NC State Extension Gardener Plant ToolboxBacks up: description, habitat, safety, season
  5. Monarda fistulosa (Wild Bergamot, Beebalm) Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Native Plant DatabaseBacks up: description, season
  6. Wild Bee Balm (Monarda fistulosa) Edible Wild FoodBacks up: description, uses, safety, storage, keeping
  7. Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) (Ashley Adamant, June 5, 2025) Practical Self RelianceBacks up: description, uses, season, safety
  8. iNaturalist research-grade observations of Monarda fistulosa within 25 km of downtown DC iNaturalistBacks up: findability
  9. Monarda fistulosa L. (Wild Bergamot) Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora (Virginia Botanical Associates)Backs up: habitat
  10. Checklist of the Vascular Plants of the Washington-Baltimore Area (Shetler & Orli) Smithsonian National Museum of Natural HistoryBacks up: habitat
  11. Wild bergamot (updated July 17, 2023) University of Maryland ExtensionBacks up: habitat, season
  12. Food Preservation: Preserving Herbs—Freezing and Drying (HYG-5360) Ohio State University ExtensionBacks up: keeping
  13. Drying Herbs National Center for Home Food Preservation (University of Georgia)Backs up: keeping
  14. USDA PLANTS Database: Monarda fistulosa (MOFI), native status USDA NRCSBacks up: native or invasive status
  15. Virginia Invasive Plant Species List (effective date: September 2024) Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural HeritageBacks up: native or invasive status
  16. Maryland Prohibited Invasive Plant Law and Regulations (Maryland Prohibited Invasive Plant List, updated January 2026; additions effective July 15, 2026; 'Next Plants To Be Assessed' 2026-2027) Maryland Department of Agriculture, Plant Protection & Weed ManagementBacks up: native or invasive status
  17. Non-Native Invasive Terrestrial Plant Species in the State of Maryland (updates approved through the April 18, 2024 MISC meeting) Maryland Invasive Species CouncilBacks up: native or invasive status
  18. Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas, Field Guide (Swearingen & Fulton, 2022; successor to the NPS/USFWS 5th ed., 2017) Mid-Atlantic Invasive Plant Council / Passiflora Press (hosted by Bugwood/Mid-Atlantic Invaders Tool)Backs up: native or invasive status
  19. Invasive Plants in the District DC Department of Energy & EnvironmentBacks up: native or invasive status
  20. 21 CFR 182.20, Essential oils, oleoresins (solvent-free), and natural extractives (including distillates) US Food and Drug Administration (Electronic Code of Federal Regulations)Backs up: safety
  21. The chemical biogeography of a widespread aromatic plant species shows both spatial and temporal variation (Ecology and Evolution, 2022) Ecology and Evolution (Wiley), via PubMed CentralBacks up: safety
  22. Horsemint, Spotted Beebalm: Monarda punctata (Green Deane) Eat The WeedsBacks up: safety
  23. Oswego Tea: Overview, Uses, Side Effects, Precautions WebMDBacks up: safety
  24. Monarda citriodora (Plants For A Future database) Plants For A FutureBacks up: safety details
  25. Mentha arvensis (Wild mint) Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Native Plant DatabaseBacks up: safety details
  26. Mr. Smarty Plants: Edible plants for a Virginia rain garden (October 21, 2009) Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center (University of Texas at Austin)Backs up: safety details
  27. Monarda didyma (Scarlet Beebalm) NC State Extension Gardener Plant ToolboxBacks up: safety, safety details
  28. Monarda media (Purple Bergamot) NC State Extension Gardener Plant ToolboxBacks up: safety, safety details
  29. Thymus vulgaris (Common Thyme) NC State Extension Gardener Plant ToolboxBacks up: safety, safety details
  30. Research-grade observations of wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) within 25 km of DC, by week (all observations) iNaturalistBacks up: season
  31. Research-grade observations of wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) within 25 km of DC, by week (flowering) iNaturalistBacks up: season
  32. Research-grade observations of wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) within 25 km of DC, by month (flowering) iNaturalistBacks up: season
  33. Bee Balm Cookies Edible Wild FoodBacks up: uses
  34. Monarda fistulosa (Plants For A Future database) Plants For A FutureBacks up: uses, safety
  35. Notable Native 2013: Wild Bergamot, Monarda fistulosa The Herb Society of AmericaBacks up: uses, season