Medicine, consumption, ornamentation
The Native Americans boiled the leaves of the scarlet beebalm to make a tea that aided digestion and helped to dissolve mucus. The Oswego tribe also drank the red tea for its pleasant flavour. When an import boycott in Boston prevented black tea from reaching American shores in 1773, inhabitants turned to the red floral tea to satisfy their taste buds. Scarlet beebalm then went on to become a popular ornamental plant in Europe.