White Bergamot
Monarda clinopodia
Found in moist, forested slopes. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you
70
Strong
Native to West Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 3–6 feet
- Spread
- 2–3 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Usually moist
Space about 2.5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 16 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- Spring, summer and fall
- Fruiting season
- July to October
Not yet recorded · Leaves
Recorded in 26 West Virginia counties.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in West Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 53 animals.
- Red-bellied WoodpeckerMelanerpes carolinus
- Ruby-throated HummingbirdArchilochus colubris
- Scarlet TanagerPiranga olivacea
- White-eyed VireoVireo griseus
- Wood ThrushHylocichla mustelina
Widespread birds also seen here (47)
Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.
- Alder Flycatcher
- American Crow
- American Goldfinch
- American Kestrel
- American Redstart
- American Robin
- Belted Kingfisher
- Black-billed Cuckoo
- Blue Grosbeak
- Blue Jay
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
- Cedar Waxwing
- Chestnut-sided Warbler
- Chimney Swift
- Chipping Sparrow
- Common Nighthawk
- Common Raven
- Cooper's Hawk
- Dark-eyed Junco
- Eastern Kingbird
- Eastern Towhee
- European Starling
- Fox Sparrow
- Gray Catbird
- Great Crested Flycatcher
- Great Horned Owl
- Least Flycatcher
- Mourning Dove
- Northern Cardinal
- Northern Flicker
- Northern Mockingbird
- Orange-crowned Warbler
- Osprey
- Purple Finch
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Rose-breasted Grosbeak
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Tufted Titmouse
- Turkey Vulture
- Veery
- White-throated Sparrow
- Wild Turkey
- Yellow-breasted Chat
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
12CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV
Genus host records with ranges including WV · Monarda
- Anterastria teratophoraGrey Marvel, White Spotted Jaspidia
- Eosphoropteryx thyatyroidesPink-Patched Looper Moth
- Lintneria eremitusHermit Sphinx
- Orthodes majusculaRustic Quaker, Rustic Groundcat
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Pyrausta orphisalisOrange Mint Moth, Orange Spotted Pyrausta
- Pyrausta signatalisRaspberry Pyrausta
- Sparganothis sulfureanaSparganothis Fruitworm Moth, Sulfur Leafroller, False Yellow-Head
- Chionodes fondella
- Pyrausta generosa
Show all 12
- Pyrausta inveterascalis
- Xenotemna pallorana
37BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Monarda
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
4Specialist beesPollen specialists
Pollen specialists · Monarda
- Dufourea monardae
- Perdita gerhardi
- Perdita variegata
- Protandrena abdominalis
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claimNo records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Lamiaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 5a–8b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to alkaline
- Flower color
- Purple or white
- Fruit begins
- July
- Fruit ends
- October
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Spring, summer and fall” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition differs)
- Flower color · “Purple or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Fruit begins · “July” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “October” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Hardiness · “Zones 5a–8b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “3–6 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards differs)
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards differs)
- Soil · “Good drainage; Moist” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; NC Extension Plant Toolbox, Tennessee Smart Yards differ)
- Soil pH · “Acidic to alkaline” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “2–3 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
White Bee Balm
Conservation status
| West Virginia rank | S5 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| WV status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
In your garden
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Choose a county to begin.
Growing cautions
- Self-seeds freely. Re-seeds readily under ideal conditions. Tennessee Smart Yards
For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.
Sources
- NatureServe Explorer
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- West Virginia occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications