BERGAMOT

any of several North American perennial plants of the mint family, Lamiaceae (or Labiatae); their leaves are used as an herb. Monarda didyma, a variety native to the United States, is made into Oswego tea, a beverage used by the Oswego tribe of American Indians and said to be the drink adopted by American colonists during their boycott of British tea. The leaves are also used to flavour punches, lemonade, and other cold drinks. Other names for the aromatic herb include bee balm, fragrant balm, and Indian's plume. The bergamot orange, Citrus bergamia, is found chiefly in the south Italian province of Calabria and yields a pear-shaped fruit valued by the flavouring and perfume industries for the essential oil extracted from its peel. The bergamot pear, a popular winter pear cultivated in Britain since the time of the Romans, is a large, round fruit with a yellowish green skin that has russet markings.