Ipsophyto

Melissa officinalis : Labiatea family

Another of the mint family, this plant is known as a garden escapee more than a wild plant. Lemon balm is thought to have originated in northern africa or the soputhern tip of europe, around the hot bed of aromatic plant origin…the mediterranean sea. It’s inclusion in a publication about herbal medicines is tenuously justified because of its long standing reputation as a scholars herb. This reputation goes back to at least the 13th century, when only boys could go to university!! The author took it regularly during recent academic studies and can verify its power as a calming and concentrating plant.

This annual superficially looks like a mint, to which it is not too distantly related, but has more rounded (broadly ovate) and generally smaller  leaves which usually reach approx 2-3 inches in length. These arise opposite each other on square stems. Melissa leaves are strongly aromatic with a distinctive ‘lemon’ scent.

The plant will reach up to 2.5 feet when in flower. The small flowers are hermaphrodite, mostly white yet sometimes dappled pink within the petals inner sanctum. They are two-lipped and grouped in loose whorls around the main flowering stem, although branching usually occurs. Flowering will usually occur from June to September and the plant will happily and freely self-seed. Melissa is well known for being an invasive plant, taking over patches of a garden via its network of vigorous underground creeping stems and for this reason i recommend it being grown in containers to restrict this habit. If your garden is big enough then fair enough, let it run riot, but smaller gardens need more managing and well, yes, coercion !

Whatever the size of the garden or container, Lemon balm can take more watering than many of its relatives. It is happy in most soils but as is common with many of the mint family, it prefers a sandy or free draing soil with a pH close to 7.0 (neutral). .The plant is happy in full sun, although partial shade provides an equally good habitat. The woodland edge is therefore a good placement for this plant in a forest garden

Parts used.

The herb above ground, shortly before flowering is best. The leaves should be dried briskly but gently in the shade.

Constituents

A volatile oil highly prized by aromatherapists because of the difficulty extracting it from the plant. This contians monoterpenes such as citronellol, citral, geraniol, as well as bitter extracts and tannins. Dosage is typically around 1-4 grams fresh tincture per day of a 1:1 extract in 40% alcohol.

The monoterpenes have calming effects on the central nervous system. All have noticable and useful anti-septic properties, as well as significant anti-spasmodic properties. In fact, the  spasmolytic action is  notable at concentrations as low as would be used with the opiate papaverine.

The plant has long been esteemed for its psychological autonomic responses which have been backed up by clinical tests in Germany, the hub of modern European herbal medicine. On the basis of these tests, lemon balm has been verified in claims to help nervous excitability, restlessnes, headaches, and palpitations. The herb has many of the properties of chamomile, and is considered by Simon Mills to be one of the best C.N.S relaxants. It is also an excellent diaphoretic and preipheral vasodilator, usefully employed to manage fevers with a tension component. It is a safe an excellent childrens remedy