Our Humanity + the Monardas
This being human thing is a real trip! Will you ponder it with me here for a minute? Here I am, a woman who has lived over half of her life, and I only (probably) know a few hundred of us humans. I say probably because I have never actually counted. I know of (have heard of) thousands, but I’ve only been well acquainted with a few hundred over my lifetime.
Yet there are over 8 billion of us!
This awareness is wonderful because it is the recipe for humbleness, the key to keeping us open-minded and in awe. Whatever it is I think and know and believe, the fact remains: my perspective is just a tee-niny dip into the vast ocean of human experience and possibility. I come back to this awareness each day: I am a mere little part of humanity, and I intend to do my part well.
Hu・man・i・ty (hyoo-man’i-tē): the human race; the quality of being humane; benevolence. In Italian, umanità; in Swahili, ubinadamu; in Greek, ανθρωπότητα; in German, menschheit; in Russian, человечество; in Chinese, 人性.
The Big Ole World of Humanity.
Thousands of ways to say it, billions of ways to live it.
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The Monardas
Monarda spp.
Lamiaceae
Dear friends,
Have you ever sought refuge from summer’s heat by retreating to the cool nooks of a creek, and then surprisingly stumbled upon flaming flowers, set among the backdrop of verdant bowers? Then you probably already know of my capacity to delight the senses and call you back from mental pretenses.
I am Monarda, and I am native to these wilds of North America. I team up with Rosebay, Linden, Orchid and Turk’s Cap Lily to perfume and/or decorate the atmosphere in the thick of high temps. I have square stems, globular flower heads, stunning bracts and my petals make a crazy hairdo (or petaldo, as we plants call it!) I stand up and I stand out- I am the most beloved mint family member of the Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island.
My indigenous human friends have cherished me throughout history, but I have been overlooked by many of European descent because their ancestors brought dozens of their own powerhouse mints across the pond centuries ago. I am pleased, though, to be recognized more and more for my gifts among many differing cultures!
I, like other dynamic entities, am called by many names: Beebalm, Wild Bergamot, Wild Oregano, Oswego Tea, Sweet Leaf, Horse Mint and even Baby-Saver Plant. My botanical name is after the fella Nicolas Bautista Monardes, who took a liking to studying me a long time ago. I have approximately 20 species but the ones most popular with human tribes are citriodora, didyma, fistulosa and punctata. You will find me in forest clearings, along the wood’s edge, in moist meadows, dry prairies and hillsides, plains and planted in sunny, well-drained ornamental and medicinal gardens.
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