Lemon balm

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lemon Balm
Lemon Balm
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Division:
Class:
Order:
Family:
Genus:
Species:
M. officinalis
Binomial name
Melissa officinalis

Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) is a perennial herb in the mint family Lamiaceae, native to southern Europe and the Mediterranean region. It grows to 70–150 cm tall. The leaves have a gentle lemon scent, related to mint. At the end of the summer, little white flowers full of nectar appear and attract bees. Its flavour comes from the terpenes citronellal, citronellol, citral, and geraniol.