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Lemon
Balm
Melissa officinalis
As long ago as 2,000 years ago, the Greeks used Lemon Balm as medicine. In
later times, in southern Europe, it was referred to as “heart’s delight”.
Later, the Swiss physician Paracelsus called it the “elixir of life”,
believing it could fully revive a person. In 1679, famous herbalist John
Evelyn said “Balm is sovereign for the brain, strengthening the memory and
powerfully chasing away melancholy.“ The “London Dispensary“, in 1696
reported “Balm, given every morning, will renew youth, strengthen the brain
and relieve languishing nature.” In the 1200s, Prince of Glamorgan, Llewelyn,
drank it as his regular morning tea, and lived to be 108. Another man, John
Hussey, of Sydenham, England, after drinking Lemon balm tea with honey for
50 years, lived to be 116 years old. For centuries herbalists have noted
Lemon Balm’s highly desirable quality of alleviating melancholy. In the
present day, Aromatherapy research is proving that it is as antidote to
depression. One such study found that moods improved greatly in groups of
senior citizens, when lotion laced with Lemon Balm essential oil was applied
to their arms. In addition, its Latin name “melissa” means “honey bee” in
Greek, as it is known to benefit the little honey-makers as well as humans.
In temperate climates, Lemon Balm prefers to spend its winter dormant in the
ground, but it allegedly can be coaxed to grow indoors over the winter. Its
situation in the garden should be in moist soil in full sun with shade at
midday, or in part sun. Harvesting of the aromatic leaves should take place
when the flowers begin to open.To preserve the flavor, leaves should be
dried or added to vinegar.
USES
Culinary Leaf - finely chopped into salad, white sauce for fish, mayonnaise,
sauerkraut, and on poultry and pork. Add to fruit salad, jelly, custard,
fruit drink and wine cup. Infuse in tea, or float in Indian tea. Add to
blended vinegar, such as with tarragon.
Household Leaf - It attracts honeybees,
so should be planted near beehives. Add the juice of the leaves to furniture
polish. Lemon Balm was once used as a strewing herb.
Cosmetic Leaf - Infuse to use as a facial steam and as a rinse for greasy
hair. Add to bathwater. An ingredient in Carmelite water.
Aromatic Leaf - Use in herb pillows, potpourris and sachets.
Medicinal Generally, Lemon Balm’s actions include: sedative, antidepressant,
digestive stimulant, relaxant for peripheral blood vessels, sweat promoting,
restorative for the nervous system, antiviral, antibacterial, carminative
and antispasmodic.
Leaf - Apply fresh or as a poultice on insect bites or sores. Drink as a tea
to relieve chronic bronchial catarrh, feverish colds, headaches, and to calm
and uplift tension. The tea is also ideal for people who get digestive upset
when worried or anxious.
(some information obtained from "The Complete Book of Herbs“,
by Leslie Bremness, andfrom “The Complete Medicinal Herbal”, by Penelope Ody)
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