Monarda punctata (spotted beebalm) is an under-appreciated native species, very different looking than what one normally associates with Monarda. It has yellow flowers that are spotted, and even showier colorful bracts that are pink shading to white in my plants. Web photos reveal it is quite variable in color, flowers from light yellow to dark orangish-yellow, bracts can be red, green, buff, or yellow. Best treated as a self-sowing short-lived perennial or biennial. It has never been a pest, just a few volunteers coming up each year, which I welcome. The tiers of bloom somehow conjure thoughts of Japanese pagodas and pineapples :D Also reminds me of a Phlomis.
Does any else grow this? What color are your plants?
USDA distribution map and info page, very wide distribution in Eastern North America and central Southwestern USA, and disjunct in California.
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=MOPU