bee balm

noun

Also called Oswego tea. a wildflower, Monarda didyma, of the mint family, having thin, lance-shaped leaves and white, salmon, or intensely red flowers, growing along streams in temperate forests and widely cultivated in gardens.
a plant, Melissa officinalis, having broad, opposite, serrated leaves and tight clusters of white, lemon-scented flowers that attract bees.

Origin of bee balm

An Americanism dating back to 1840–50

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Then the unseen painter begins to mix the royal colour on his palette, and the red of the bee-balm catches your eye.
Little Rivers | Henry van Dyke
I have never found it with its only rival in color, the monarda or bee-balm, a species of mint.
Riverby | John Burroughs
June will give the bellflower, mullein, bee balm and foxglove.
The Library of Work and Play: Gardening and Farming. | Ellen Eddy Shaw
The cardinal flower is the only flower more gaudy in red than this bee balm.
The Library of Work and Play: Gardening and Farming. | Ellen Eddy Shaw

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