There are two plants called bergamot that share
only one thing in common – the aroma of
oranges. One of them is a European tree and the
other is a North American herb.
The bergamot orange is a true
orange tinged with the fragrance of perfume. In
fact, its oil is a very common element in the
formulation of many of the worlds’ best-loved
perfumes. The tree is a native of Europe where
it is also used to flavor Earl Grey, the very
popular British tea.
The orange-scented bergamot
herb is a native of North America, particularly
upstate New York, where the Oswego (or Otsego)
Indian tribe lived and enjoyed the herb in tea
on this side of the pond.
So popular was the bergamot
tea enjoyed by the Oswego Indians that, when the
Boston Tea Party of 1773 led to the dumping overboard
of traditional British teas in protest of high
taxes, Oswego tea took its place.
The frugal Shaker clan preferred
the less expensive bergamot tea to the expensive
teas imported from India.
The native American bergamot
herb sports either red or purple flowers that
are used to soothe fevers, colds, sore throats,
and the headaches that come with those maladies.
Native American Indians inhaled the oil to relieve
congestion and as an ingredient in poultices to
heal boils.
Today’s herbalists like
the bergamot tea for relieving nausea and vomiting
and to ease painful menstrual cramping.
And like its European counterpart,
the bergamot herb has contributed its lovely orange-like
aroma to perfumes and cosmetics.
Reference
Kruger, Anna; An Illustrated Guide to Herbs: Their
Medicine and Magic; A Dragon’s World Book;
Limpsfield and London; 1993
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