Balm
Parts Usually Used
Herb, leaves
Description of Plant(s) and Culture
Balm is a perennial plant; the stem is upright, hairy, quadrangular, and branched and grows as high as 3 feet. The leaves are opposite, ovate, long-petioled, somewhat hairy, bluntly serrate, and acuminate. The bilabiate flowers grow in axillary clusters and may vary in color from pale yellow to rose colored or blue-white. The flowering time is July and August. When bruised, the whole plant smells like lemon.
The leaves of this plant, similar in appearance to those of Catnip, are best identified by the strong, pleasant lemony scent.
Where Found
Common in the Mediterranean area and the Near East but is also naturalized to some places in the United States. Mostly, it is cultivated as a culinary herb, but it grows wild in fields, barnyards, old house sites, open woods, gardens and along roadsides, from Maine to Florida and west to Kansas.
Medicinal Properties
Antispasmodic, antiviral, calmative, carminative, diaphoretic, emmenagogue, stomachic, febrifuge, sedative, antidepressant, nervine
Biochemical Information
Volatile oil (including citronellal), polyphenols, tannins, bitter principle, flavonoids, rosmarinic acid
Legends, Myths and Stories
The great Paracelsus called this herb the elixir of life, and combined it with carbonate of potash in a mixture known as Primum Ens Melissae. It is recorded that one of Louis XIV’s physicians, Lesebure, tried this out on an elderly chicken, which within a few days lost its tattered plumage, grew fresh feathers and started to lay eggs again. He had earlier tried it, with equally dramatic results, on two old servants, but did not complete the experiment.
Another of Paracelsus’s elixirs, the Primum Ens Sanquinis, contained human blood and Alcahest, a universal medicine based on caustic lime, alcohol and carbonate of potash. Eau de Carmes, a fashionable 17th century perfume, was a distillation of balm leaves and spirits of wine, to which were added lemon peel, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon. Balm oil is still a favorite scent throughout the Middle East.
The botanical name melissa is from the Greek word for honey. Bees are particularly fond of this plant. Among the ancient Greeks it was a practice to place sprigs of balm in bee hives to attract a swarm. John Hussey of Sydenham, England, who lived to the age of 116, breakfasted for 50 years on balm tea sweetened with honey, and the herb teas were the usual breakfasts of Llewelyn, Prince of Glamorgan, who lived to 108.
Other amazing powers of longevity have been ascribed to lemon balm. Balm and bees have been linked since ancient times. Melissa comes from the Greek for “honey bee”, and lemon balm has the same healing and tonic properties as honey and royal jelly. ” Originally grown in the Orient, Arab traders introduced this herb to Spain. It was later brought to Germany by Benedictine monks.
Still popular in Europe, lemon balm is now grown in parts of the United States. ” Essential oil: the concentrated essence of lemon balm has the same properties as the leaves but is far more potent; a few drops make an excellent antidote to depression. Pure essential oil is difficult to obtain commercially; it is often adulterated with lemon or lemongrass oils.
Uses
Historically, herbalists employed balm for a variety of female complaints, insomnia, cramps, dyspepsia, flatulence, and colic. Traditional practitioners also administered it for liver, spleen, and bladder troubles, as well as for chronic bronchial catarrh, asthma, migraine, and toothache. A warm infusion of the plant was valued as a diaphoretic for colds, flu, and fevers, while leaf infusions were sometimes added to bath water in folk traditions to encourage menstruation.
Externally, the crushed leaves were applied as poultices to sores, swellings, and insect bites. Due to its pleasant scent, balm was also traditionally incorporated into herb pillows. In early laboratory research, hot-water extracts were reported to exhibit antispasmodic and antioxidant properties.
How Sold
Sold in commercial antiviral preparations in Germany. This herb is widely available in tea, dried herb, and extract.
Bibliography
, Simon & Schuster/Fireside, Rockefeller Center 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020 The Herbalist Almanac , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, copyright 1988, fifth printing, 1994 The Herb Book , by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974. Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants , by Steven Foster and James A.
, Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000 The Nature Doctor: A Manual of Traditional and Complementary Medicine , by Dr. A. , 27 Pine Street (Box 876) New Canaan, CT. 06840-0876. Copyright Verlag A. Vogel, Teufen (AR) Switzerland 1952, 1991 The Magic of Herbs , by David Conway, published by Jonathan Cape, Thirty Bedford Square, London, England. (Out of print) The Yoga of Herbs: An Ayurvedic Guide to Herbal Medicine , by Dr.
David Frawley & Dr. Vasant Lad, Lotus Press, Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, Second edition, 1988. , 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023 An Instant Guide to Medicinal Plants , by Pamela Forey and Ruth Lindsay, Crescent Books (January 27, 1992). The Magic of Herbs in Daily Living , by Richard Lucas, Parker Publishing Co. (1988). The Rodale Herb Book: How to Use, Grow, and Buy Nature’s Miracle Plants (An Organic gardening and farming book) , edited by William H.
Hylton, Rodale Press, Inc. , 1974