Melissa officinalis
Lemon Balm, Bee Balm, Balm, Lus Na Meala, Beebalm, Common Balm, Lemonbalm, Melissa, Bee Herb, Garden Balm, Sweet Balm, Tea Balm, Melissa officinalis
Description
An aromatic herbaceous perennial cultivated, either in open fields or flower beds as well as in pots, for its foliage used in food, herbal medicine and cosmetics. With a bushy habit and abundant branching, it flowers during the summer-autumn period, attracting useful pollinating insects such as bees and bumblebees, as evidenced by its botanical name, which derives from the Greek mélissa or mélitta, meaning bee, which in turn comes from meli meaning honey. It is easy to cultivate but requires abundant but water-free irrigation and preferably full sun exposure.
Classification
- Kingdom
- Plantae
- Phylum
- Magnoliophyta
- Class
- Angiospermae
- Order
- Lamiales
- Family
- Lamiaceae
- Genus
- Melissa
- Species
- Melissa officinalis
Synonyms (3)
- Faucibarba officinalis
- Mutelia officinalis
- Thymus melissa
