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Melissa officinalis

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Melissa officinalis

Melissa officinalis, Lemon balm, balm, common balm, or balm mint, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the mint family Lamiaceae and native to south-central Europe, the Mediterranean Basin, Iran, and Central Asia, but now naturalized in the Americas and elsewhere. It grows to a maximum height of 70–150 cm.

Uses

Digestive, Carminative, Antispasmodic, Sedative, Analgesic, Tonic.

Parts Used

Leaves.

Chemical Composition

The known major components of lemon balm are reported to include hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives, particularly rosmarinic acid, caffeic acids, chlorogenic acid, and metrilic acid tannins3, flavonoids, including luteolin. [1]

Common names

Language Common name
Kannada
Hindi
Malayalam
Tamil
Telugu
Marathi NA
Gujarathi NA
Punjabi NA
Kashmiri NA
Sanskrit
English Lemon balm, balm mint


Properties

Reference: Dravya - Substance, Rasa - Taste, Guna - Qualities, Veerya - Potency, Vipaka - Post-digesion effect, Karma - Pharmacological activity, Prabhava - Therepeutics.

Dravya

Rasa

Guna

Veerya

Vipaka

Karma

Prabhava

Habit

Herbs

Identification

Leaf

Kind Shape Feature
Simple Roundish The opposed leaves, whose stalked stems vary in length, are broadly oval to heart-shaped and have an irregular crenate (rounded teeth) or serrate (small, sharp teeth) edge. The dark green upper surface of the leaf is sparsely haired and has very prominent veins.

[2]

Flower

Type Size Color and composition Stamen More information
1 cm in size Pale white labial flowers 5 Grow from the leaf axils in semi-verticils. Lemon balm flowers anywhere from June to September depending on geographic location.

Other features

List of Ayurvedic medicine in which the herb is used

Where to get the saplings

Mode of Propagation

root.

How to plant/cultivate

Lemon balm seeds require light and at least 20 °C (70 °F) to germinate. Lemon balm grows in clumps and spreads vegetatively, as well as by seed. In mild temperate zones, the stems of the plant die off at the start of the winter, but shoot up again in spring. Lemon balm grows vigorously; it should not be planted where it will spread into other plantings. [3]

Commonly seen growing in areas

Garden area.

Photo Gallery

References

External Links