August-September 2026 • Nebraskaland 63
native bees and butterflies are the main pollinators of
beebalm flowers.
Grown in open, sunny sites, Plains beebalm and wild
bergamot make attractive ornamentals. Easily established
from seed or young plants, the hardy plants, adapted to
the rigors of the prairie, need little care. Their long-lasting
blooms will keep a garden abuzz with bees and butterflies
for weeks.
Drawn to Beebalms
Their fragrant monoterpenes have long drawn people
to beebalms. On the social side, Plains tribes gathered the
flowers of both Nebraska species and mixed them with
water to make a perfume sprinkled on the hair. For medicine,
tribes prepared teas and poultices to treat ailments
including insect bites and stings, headaches, colds and
coughs, and stomach troubles. The Winnebago boiled the
leaves and applied them to pimples, while the Blackfeet
bound flower heads over burst boils until they healed.
Human curiosity about monoterpenes' medicinal value
continues as researchers experiment with them to inhibit
tumor growth and ease respiratory congestion.
As food and drink, tribes used beebalm leaves and
flowers to make minty teas and to season beans, meats and
stews. Today, food enthusiasts often favor the milder, more
pleasantly flavored wild bergamot over other beebalms.
Carrying on Native traditions, they use it in refreshing teas
and, in contemporary cuisine, to infuse flavor into liqueurs,
ice cream, syrup and flower jelly. Fresh leaves can garnish
soups and salads or be used in marinades and vinaigrettes.
Some refer to bergamot as the "pizza plant" because it
pairs so well with tomato sauce. Dried leaves make a good
substitute for oregano or thyme in foods ranging from bread
dough to sausage. Perhaps this justifies adding beebalms to
your herb garden.
In "Edible Wild Plants of the Prairie," ethnobotanist
Kelly Kindscher notes that wild bergamot varies greatly
in taste depending on the variety and the time of year it is
harvested. The early leaves are the best substitute for mint
tea, the later leaves before the plants flower make the best
oregano-tasting seasoning, and the old leaves, which can
be tough and are the hottest, can be used in hot sauce.
However you enjoy beebalms — whether for the flight of
their pollinators, the aroma of crushed leaves or the minty
kick of their tea — remember to thank the monoterpenes.
Minty, wild bergamot tea made from young, green leaves.
Plains beebalm forms a colorful colony in mixed-grass prairie at Fort Robinson State Park.
