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MELISSA OFFICINALIS. 
Common Balm * 
Class DiDYNAMiA. — Order Gymnospermia. 
Nat. Ord. Verticillat/e, Linn. Labiat^e, Juss. 
Gen: C HAR. . Calyx dry, nearly, flat above. Corolla j^xipper 
lip somewhat arched, bifid ; lower lip with the middle lobe 
cordate. 
Spec. Char. i?acmes axillary, verticeled. Pedicles simple. 
This species of balmf is a native of the south of Europe, delight- 
ing * in mountainous situations. It was cultivated in Britain by 
Gerarde, previous to 1596, and is now common in most of our 
gardens, where it is propagated for medicinal purposes, or to entice 
bees, they being particularly fond^ofjt.j ■ 
Coniuion balm is a hardy perennial plant, flowering from July to 
September; the root is fibrous, and sends up many annual stems, 
whicli are erect, quadrangular, smooth, branched, and rise from 
two to three feet in height; the leaves-are cordate, deeply serrated, 
rough,,;;yeined, of a bright green colour, and placed opposite in 
pairs ; the upper ones nearly sessile, the lower ones on longish 
footstalks ;' the' flowers arise iu semi-worls * at the ala? 'of the leaves, 
and stand upon slender peduncles, at the base of which are small, 
oblong,- seri;ated,; hairy ^bract;\;;' the calyx consists of one pentan- 
gular leaf,'Hivided at the brim into two lips ; of these the upper is 
the largest, and divided at the extremity into three segments, the 
lower shorter, and ciit into two acute teeth ; the corolla is monope- 
talous, bilabiated, tubular, and of a yellowish white colour ; the 
upper lip shorter, and notched at the apex, the, lower one three-cleft ; 
the filaments are furnished with oblong antheis ; the germen divides 
into four parts, from the'centre of which rises a long slender style. 
* Fig. a. the corolla cut open to shew the anthers, b. The pistillura. 
t It is not satisfac{{)rily ascertained bj what name this plant was known to the 
ancients ; by some it is supposed to be the MsMa-s-ofvWov or MsXcrTaiva of Dioscorides. 
