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Purple Burgamot

Monarda media

Found in northern hardwoods forests, spruce-fir forest openings, other moist slopes, mostly at high elevations. 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
2–3 feet
Spread
1–2 feet
Light
Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Usually moist

Space about 1.5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 44 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source

Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Leaves
Deciduous
Bloom
July to September
Fruiting season
September to October

County records are not available.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 4

Northern hardwood forests

High mountain forests of beech, yellow birch and sugar maple, including boulderfield forests.

Forests and woodlands

Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.

Spruce-fir forests

Cool, evergreen forests of red spruce and Fraser fir on the highest mountains.

Moist forests

Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in West Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 39 animals.

All wildlife of West Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

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
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
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
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
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Lamiaceae
Hardiness
Zones 4a–9b
Soil pH
Acidic
Flower color
Yellow or purple
Fruit begins
September
Fruit ends
October
Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Purple Bee Balm; Purple Bergamot

Conservation status

West Virginia rankS2
Global rankG4?
WV statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources