More Spotted Beebalm (Monarda punctata)

August 17^th, 2012. I was making my way over to the Showy Rattlebox (Crotolaria spectabilis) plants growing at the edge of the woods on the south side of GA-16 east of Sparta in Hancock County. I had to walk through grass and cross a shallow ditch to reach the woods. At the bottom of the ditch, I happened to look down. And there it was a...

Spotted Beebalm (Monarda punctata) plant in bloom. I almost didn’t notice it. It didn’t stand out. I looked around and saw more plants growing along the ditch.

I’d wondered how many ‘decks’ of flowers could develop on a stem. This stem has five decks.

A closer view of the flowers

It seems that a lot of flowers have small ‘friends.’  This flower had a resident Green Lynx (Peucetia viridans) spider lying in wait in hope of a meal.

As I was walking about photographing the Showy Rattlebox (Crotolaria spectablis), I happened upon this clump of beebalm plants. The clump appears to have more plants than it actually has. Most of the stems had branched with blooms on each branch. It’s interesting how ‘dull’ the flowers are in low light – it was late afternoon and cloudy.

Looking back at the patch from the road. It’s hard to recognize them at a distance. They look like dead flowers. See a more complete set of photographs here.

Monarda punctata (Spotted Beebalm, Eastern Horse-mint, Dotted Horse Mint) is native to the United States where it’s found in states southeast of a line from Quebec and Ontario, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas to New Mexico. In Georgia, it’s found in many counties throughout the state. Interestingly it has not been formally documented in Oglethorpe County.

Click on an image to view a larger image

Identification resources:

- Southeastern Flora: Monarda punctata (Spotted Beebalm)

- Name that Plant: Native and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia: Monarda punctata (Eastern Horse0mint)- Missouri Plants: Monarda punctata

- Alabama Plants: Monarda punctata (Dotted HorseMint)

Distribution:

- United States Department of Agriculture Plants Database: Monarda punctata (Spotted Beebalm)

- University of North Carolina Herbarium: Monarda punctata

Bug Guide: Green Lynx spider (Peucetia viridans)

Related posts:

-  Spotted Beebalm (Monarda punctata)

- Showy Rattlebox (Crotolaria spectabilis)                  

Spotted Beebalm (Monarda punctata)

August 4^th. 2012.  We wandered down a forest service road in the Oconee National Forest. The road didn’t look very interesting. Wide margins on each side of the road had been mowed. So it was surprising to find anything of interest. W spotted them – well, they were on his side of the truck – a clump of plants standing about 30 inches tall. He almost missed them. It was late afternoon and dark with thunderstorm clouds above us. In this light, these blooms didn’t stand out.

But they were gems. The first Spotted Beebalm (Monarda punctata) plants I’ve ever seen in three years of wandering around north Georgia. Just shows that you have to be in the right place at the right time. W pulled a camp chair out of the truck and I sat there for about 15 minutes photographing them.

 The plants. There were three clumps in all.

 A closer view of the clump.

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The leaves are opposite and are developing a pink color and will be bracts to future blooms.

A closer view of an individual flower head composed of three levels of blooms. The individual flowers are yellow with brown spots that are arranged around the stem.

The top of the flower head. Flowers are developing

 A single level of flowers

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Closer views of a single flower

And the bonus… A small crab spider was lurking among the flowers hoping for a meal.

Monarda punctata (Spotted Beebalm, Eastern Horse-mint, Dotted Horse Mint) is native to the United States. Where it’s found in states southeast of a line from Quebec and Ontario, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas to New Mexico. In Georgia, it’s found in many counties throughout the state. Interestingly it has not been formally documented in Oglethorpe County.

Click on an image to view a larger image

Identification resources:

- Southeastern Flora: Monarda punctata (Spotted Beebalm)

- Name that Plant: Native and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia: Monarda punctata (Eastern Horse-mint)

- Missouri Plants: Monarda punctata 

- Alabama Plants: Monarda punctata (Dotted Horse Mint)

Distribution:

- United States Department of Agriculture Plants Database: Monarda punctata (Spotted Beebalm)

- University of North Carolina Herbarium: Monarda punctata

Related post:

- Exploring