Melissa officinalis
Melissa officinalis is one of the plants of the family called Lamiaceae; in Latin the name of this plant will be as follows: Melissa officinalis L.
As for the name of the lemon balm family itself, in Latin it will be: Lamiaceae Lindl. (Labiatae Juss.).
Description of lemon balm
Melissa officinalis is also known under the following popular names: honey honey, censer, uterus, queen plant, molasses lemon balm, honey shoe, bee leaf, roevnik, citron grass, citron lemon balm. Melissa officinalis is a perennial herbaceous rhizomatous plant endowed with underground shoots. The stems of this plant are erect and tetrahedral, and at the top they are branched, while the height of this plant will fluctuate between fifty and one hundred and twenty centimeters. The leaves of lemon balm are glabrous on top, pubescent and ovate below, pointed at the top and jagged at the edges. The flowers of this plant are on rather short stalks, they are bilipped and irregular, and also quite small. Such flowers can be painted in both white and pale lilac tones. Such flowers are collected in three to ten pieces into one-sided false whorls, which are located in the very axils of the upper leaves. The bracts of lemon balm are shorter than the flowers and oblong in shape.
The calyx of this plant is bilabial and bell-shaped, with the upper lip being flat and having three teeth, while the lower calyx is bidentate. The corolla of lemon balm is two-lipped and deciduous, and almost naked; its color will be either pink or whitish. The fruit of lemon balm will consist of four small ovoid smooth nuts, colored in light brown tones and enclosed in a collapsed calyx.
This plant blooms from June to August, while the fruits ripen from August to September.
Description of the medicinal properties of lemon balm
Melissa officinalis is endowed with very valuable healing properties, and for medicinal purposes it is recommended to use the tops of shoots and leaves, which are recommended to be collected at the very beginning of the flowering period of this plant.
The presence of such valuable healing properties should be explained by the content of essential oil in the lemon balm fruit, which contains myrcene, citral, citronellal, cineole, linalool and geraniol. The grass will contain carotene, a little mucus, ascorbic acid, resin, bitterness, tannins, as well as the following acids: caffeic, ursolic and oleanic. Семена этого растения будут содержать до двадцати процентов жирного масла.
Melissa officinalis is endowed with analgesic, antimicrobial, antispasmodic, antiemetic, wound healing, sedative and hypotensive effects, and the antiviral and bacteriostatic properties of this plant are widely known. This medicinal plant will have a positive effect on the brain, especially with nervous spasms, on the stomach, and also with dizziness and tinnitus. An infusion prepared from lemon balm has the ability to slow down breathing, lower blood pressure, and will also have a sedative effect on the nervous system. It is noteworthy that leaf extracts of this plant also have a very effective sedative effect, provided they are used correctly.
