Lemon balm

Melissa officinalis

Lamiaceae

Lemon-scented mint for fretful moods, a racing mind, and cold-sore lips.

Culinary mint-family herb.

Parts used: Aerial parts
Traditional notes: Anxious low mood · Palpitations from nerves · Indigestion · Cold sores (topical)
Grow · USDA 6b: Perennial, USDA 4–9 Seed or division. Self-sows politely compared with mint. In work: Apr · May · Jun · Jul · Aug · Sep
Harvest: Cut before full bloom, repeatedly.

Cut it to the ground when it flowers or it will seed the whole bed.
Dry leaf fast in thin layers or it turns brown and hay-like.
A pot on the step is enough for tea. It does not need a field.

Safety

Significant hypothyroidism without advice

Companions

Plant with Catnip, Peppermint, Spearmint.

Lore

Paracelsus called it the elixir of life. Carmelite water — a 17th-century lemon-balm spirit — was a convent’s idea of a cordial. Bees prefer it so strongly that the Greek melissa simply means bee.

The Herbarium — a teaching catalog, not a clinic. Traditional use is history, not a prescription. USDA 6b dates are a week either way, not a promise. Do not eat, drink, or harvest a plant you cannot name.