Lemon balm

Melissa officinalis L.

Botanical characteristics. The family is labial. Perennial herbaceous plant up to 80-120 cm high. The stem is tetragonal, branching at the apex. Has a strongly branched rhizome. Leaves opposite, oval. Flowers are small, pinkish-lilac, form spicate inflorescences. The whole plant has a strong pleasant mint-lemon scent and a bitter-spicy taste. Blooms in June-August, fruits ripen in August-September.

Spread. In the wild it occurs only in the southern regions of our country. It is widely cultivated in gardens and orchards as a spicy and medicinal plant. Poorly tolerates frosts, needs shelter for the winter.

Used parts of the plant. Leaves and tops of grass.
The strong lemon scent of lemon balm is caused by an essential oil consisting of citral, citronella, myrcene and geraniol. Slime, tar, bitterness, ascorbic acid (up to 150 mg%), tannins, coffee, oleanoic and ursolic acids are found in the plant. Seeds contain up to 20% fatty oil.

Application. Infusions of melissa slows down breathing, cuts down the heart contractions, lowers arterial pressure and acts sedately on the nervous system.
Used for neuroses, depression, hysteria, migraine, increased sexual excitability and insomnia, with hypertension, atherosclerosis, dizziness, with noise in the ears and with palpitation.
It is recommended for pain in the stomach and intestines, with poor appetite, with chronic constipation and flatulence, as well as with anemia and gout.
In folk medicine, lemon balm is used for female diseases and calls it "mother liquor".
Melissa, like mint, is added to salads, to garnishes of second courses, to a filling - meat or vegetable, for dumplings and cabbage rolls.
As an external agent used for baths, lotions and enemas.

Contraindications. The plant is slightly toxic.

Preparation. 1 tablespoon of herbs are insisted with 2 cups of boiling water (daily dose).
As external to aromatic baths with poor metabolism and as strengthening, with a general decline in strength, 20 grams of lemon balm with the same amounts of yarrow, wormwood, oregano, peppermint, pine buds and shoots (collected in February and March), rhizomes of moor aureus. All this is mixed and boiled in a closed vessel in 10 liters of water for 30 minutes. Allow to cool, filter and pour into a bath with hot water. Bathe for 15 minutes. The bath temperature is 37-38 ° С.
As an insecticide, melissa is popular with beekeepers. A branch of lemon balm, placed on the bottom of the hive, expels or destroys pests - earwigs, ants and a wax moth.