Melissa officinalis

Lemon Balm is native to southern Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa.

“Melissa” is the Greek word for bee, and the plant is a favorite of honeybees. Arab physicians believed it was good for heart disorders as well as for lifting the spirits. Greeks and Romans used the Herb also. The colonists brought it with them to the New World. In the American edition of Pereiara’s Materia Medica it is listed as an herb that induces sweating in fevers and in regulating menstruation. It Grown today both for its scent and its practical uses.

Lemon balm has many uses. As a cosmetic Herb , it makes a good skin cleanser.

Steamy facials with this Herb are recommended for acne. Dry leaves can be used used in potpourri. It is said to repel insects and can be blended with other insect repelling herbs such as lavender, lemongrass, and rue.

Rub down the kitchen table with the herbs to keep bugs from food . Throw some in the campfire or barbeque pit to keep bugs away. Beekeepers have rubbed it on the inside of the hives to encourage a new swarm to stay.

Lemon balm makes both delicious beverage and medicinal tea. It is also nice added to black tea. Fresh leaves can be chopped and added to green salads, fruits salads, marinated vegetables, poultry stuffing, and fish marinades and sauces. It goes well with broccoli, asparagus, lamb, fish, and shellfish. Combine it with other lemon herbs such as lemon thyme, lemon basil, and lemon verbena and add to vinegar. It is also one of the ingredients in Benedictine and Chartreuse liqueurs.

Medicinally lemon balm is used in tea for fevers, to help digestion, and for tension headache. The essential oil is used in aromatherapy for depression, melancholy, and nervous tension.

Externally in used salve, it is effective in relieving symptoms of herpes simplex, sores, and painful swellings. A compress is good for gout. This very common plant is being investigated along with common sage as herbs with memory-improving properties.

Harvest before it flowers for optimum fragrance. Be careful not to bruise the leaves as you harvest. Take leaves throughout the season.

Dry on trays rather than hanging in the shade, and dry quickly to prevent it from turning black. Do not harvest unless sunny weather is predicted for several days. Plant yield may be scant the first year, but will prove ample in the second.

Lemon balm is not an ornamental as it is a rather scrawny plant. The variegated variety could be a nice accent plant in the background. It belongs well in aromatic gardens, a children’s gardens, and a beekeeper’s gardens.

Lemon balm does well in a containers in a shady areas. Water it normally during the growing season, but keep it on the dry, cool side during winter.

Lemon balm is easy to grow from seed, which germinates better if left uncovered. Plants can also be divided in spring or fall, and it can be grown from cuttings taken in summer.

Resources :

  • The Herb Book ~ By John Lust
  • Wyman’s Gardening Encyclopedia ~By Donald Wyman
  • The Herbalist ~By Joseph Myer
  • A Field Guide To Edible Wild Plants ~By Lee Allen Peterson
  • Manual of Mythology ~By Alexander S Murray
  • Family And Friends

© 2002-2007 Arwynn MacFeylynnd

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