Melissa

Lemon balm is an herbaceous perennial in the mint family. Its foliage has a distinctive lemony fragrance when bruised. The leaves are light green, crinkled, slightly hairy, strongly toothed on the margins, more or less egg shaped, and about 1-3 in (2.5-7.6 cm) in length. As is typical of herbaceous mints, lemon balm leaves are arranged in opposing pairs on square stems. The little flowers are 0.5 in (1.3 cm) in diameter are produced all summer long. They are pale yellow maturing to pale lilac and arranged in irregular whorls at leaf nodes on upright stems. The flowers are not at all showy and the plant is generally grown for its lemon scented leaves. A mature lemon balm plant can stand 2-3 ft 0.6-0.9 m) tall and spread and sprawl 2-3 ft (0.6-0.9 m) across. 'All Gold' is a selection with yellow leaves, and 'Variegata' (a.k.a. 'Aurea', has dark green leaves with golden yellow markings along the margins.