Punctata!

Monarda punctata in July, Brooklyn

is in the house. Monarda punctata, (Horsemint, spotted bee balm). I think it was Caleb who introduced me to it in Brooklyn Botanic's Herb Garden last year, although since it's a native plant, it also grows in the Native Flora Garden. But this year, it also grows in mine and I am completely and madly in love with it. It was a gift from Susan who purchased a bunch of small native perennials in the winter. Interesting historical fact from Peterson's Medicinal Plants guide about Monarda punctata: Its oil is high in thymol, which has antiseptic qualities. Though Thymol is now manufactured synthetically, thyme was once the key commercial source. During World War I, when commercial thyme fields were destroyed in Europe, Horsemint was grown in the US as a replacement.

You can learn a lot of cool things about plants in books and botanic gardens.