ehsimons
Spotted Horsemint (Monarda punctata)
Spotted Horsemint is Florida's only native Moranda species. It is a short-lived weedy plant that grows 4-5 feet tall. It attracts a horde of pollinators, including some rare solitary wasps (the pictured wasp, Feather-legged Scoliid Wasp) is more common).
The pink bract, variable in intensity, are not the flowers. The yellow spotted flowers are the mail attraction for the pollinators, which include honeybees, bumblebees, miner bees, the endangered plasterer bees, swallowtail butterflies, and the endangered Karner Blue.
Horsemint makes a nice, intentionally weak tea. Stronger brews are used in herbal medicine. The Native Americans made a “sweating” tea from it to treat colds. The major oil in Horsemint is thymol. Externally it’s an antiseptic and vermifuge, internally, in large amounts, the plant can be fatal. That’s the bad news. So, it makes a nice, intentionally weak, tea.
Spotted Horsemint (Monarda punctata)
Spotted Horsemint is Florida's only native Moranda species. It is a short-lived weedy plant that grows 4-5 feet tall. It attracts a horde of pollinators, including some rare solitary wasps (the pictured wasp, Feather-legged Scoliid Wasp) is more common).
The pink bract, variable in intensity, are not the flowers. The yellow spotted flowers are the mail attraction for the pollinators, which include honeybees, bumblebees, miner bees, the endangered plasterer bees, swallowtail butterflies, and the endangered Karner Blue.
Horsemint makes a nice, intentionally weak tea. Stronger brews are used in herbal medicine. The Native Americans made a “sweating” tea from it to treat colds. The major oil in Horsemint is thymol. Externally it’s an antiseptic and vermifuge, internally, in large amounts, the plant can be fatal. That’s the bad news. So, it makes a nice, intentionally weak, tea.