Melissa Flower

Lemon balm plants grow bushy and upright to a maximum height of 100 centimetres. The leaves are soft and hairy with scalloped edges and have a mild lemon scent. Small white or pale pink flowers appear in summer.

The species is native to south-central Europe, the Mediterranean Basin, Central Asia and Iran. The genus name Melissa comes from the Ancient Greek word for honey bee, because of the plant's bee-attracting flowers. The Latin epithet officinalis, meaning 'of the shop', comes from the herb's use by apothecaries.

The leaves are harvested by hand in June and August in the northern hemisphere, on a day when the weather is dry. Lemon balm is used as an ornamental plant, as a raw or cooked herb in various foods, and in teas and aromatic essential oils. Lemon balm is used as a flavouring in ice cream and herbal teas, often in combination with other herbs, such as spearmint.

In an Algerian sample, the major component of the oil was geranial (44.20%), and the other predominant components were neral (30.20%) and citronellal (6.30%). A summary of reported compositions gives neral at 19.6 to 36.1% and geranial at 25.3 to 47.5%. The citrus-like aroma of the plant is due to citral isomers, together with lesser amounts of citronellal and geranyl acetate.

Two chemotypes of the oil have been found, a citral chemotype and a germacrene D chemotype. The subspecies officinalis contains major amounts of citral and/or neral, but the subspecies altissima contains only traces. An oil from Greece lacked the major constituents citral and citronellal.

Ireland is a major producer of lemon balm essential oil. True oil is extremely expensive. The essential oil is commonly co-distilled with lemon oil, citronella oil or other essential oils.

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