BALM
melissa officinalis L.
Labiatae
Mint family



Parts Usually Used
Whole Herb

The herb is so well known as to be
an inhabitant almost in every garden.

Leaves are set in pairs upon the stem,
the flowers in whorls above each pair.

Where Found
Common in the Mediterranean area and the Near East
but is naturalized to some places in the United States.
A garden plant, but its natural habitat
is the mountainous regions in southern Europe.

Mostly, it is cultivated as a culinary herb,
but it grows wild in fields, barnyards, old house sites,
open woods, gardens and along roadsides,
from Maine to Florida and west to Kansas.

DESCRIPTION
Balm is a perennial plant; the stem is upright, hairy,
quadrangular, and branched and grows as high as 3 feet.

The leaves are opposite, ovate, long-petioled,
somewhat hairy, bluntly serrate, and acuminate.

The bilabiate flowers grow in axillary clusters and may
vary in color from pale yellow to rose colored or blue-white.
The flowering time is July and August.

When bruised, the whole plant smells like lemon.

Leaves of this plant, similar in appearance to those of Catnip,
are best identified by the strong, pleasant lemony scent.

The root-stock is short, the stem square and branching,
grows 1 to 2 feet high, and has at each joint pairs
of broadly ovate or heart-shaped, crenate or toothed leaves
which emit a fragrant lemon odor when bruised.
They have a distinct lemon taste.

Flowers, white or yellowish, are in loose, small bunches
from the axils of the leaves and bloom from June to October.

Plant dies down in winter, but the root is perennial.

The genus Melissa is widely diffused, having
representatives in Europe, Middle Asia and North America.
The name is from the Greek word signifying 'bee,' indicative
of the attraction the flowers have for those insects,
on account of the honey they produce.

CULTIVATION
Balm grows freely in any soil and can be propagated by seeds,
cuttings or division of roots in spring or autumn.

If in autumn, preferably not later than October, so that
the offsets may be established before the frosts come on.

The roots may be divided into small pieces,
with three or four buds to each, and planted
2 feet apart in ordinary garden soil.

The only culture required is to keep them clean
from weeds and to cut off the decayed stalks
in autumn, and then to stir the ground between the roots.


ACTIONS
CONDITIONS
CULINARY
DESCRIPTION
ESSENTIAL OIL
HISTORY
LORE
MAGICAL PROPERTIES