''Melittis melissophyllum'' is a species of flowering plant in the mint family,

Lamiaceae The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family (biology), family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle, or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil (herb), ba ...

. Its common name is bastard balm. It is the only species in the

monotypic genus In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

''Melittis''.Scheen, A. C., et al. (2008)
Molecular phylogenetics of tribe Synandreae, a North American lineage of lamioid mints (Lamiaceae).
''Cladistics'' 24(3) 299-314. The genus name is derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

''melitta'', which is in turn from ''melissa'' ("a bee").Nicholson, G., et al
''The Illustrated Dictionary of Gardening: Volume 4''.
L. Upcott Gill. 1887. pg. 347. ;Subspecies *''Melittis melissophyllum'' subsp. ''albida'' (Guss.) P.W.Ball - eastern Mediterranean from Sardinia to Turkey *''Melittis melissophyllum'' subsp. ''carpatica'' (Klokov) P.W.Ball - eastern Europe from Austria to Baltic States *''Melittis melissophyllum'' subsp. ''melissophyllum'' - western Europe from Britain to Spain + Italy

Distribution

It is native to central and southern Europe from

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

east to

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

Baltic States The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...

.Altervista Flora Italiana, Erba limona, Bastard Balm, ''Melittis melissophyllum'' L.
includes photos + European distribution map

Description

''Melittis melissophyllum'' reaches on average of height, with a minimum of and a maximum of . It is a strongly aromatic plant with erect hairy stems. The root of this plant is a perennial short

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and Shoot (botany), shoots from its Node (botany), nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from ...

. This species is quite variable in leaf-shape and corolla-color. The leaves reach of length. They are oval, bluntly-toothed, quite hairy. They have a short

petiole Petiole may refer to: *Petiole (botany), the stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem *Petiole (insect anatomy) In entomology, petiole is the technical term for the narrow waist of some hymenopteran insects, especially ants, bees, and ...

and are in opposite pairs up the stems. The

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

is composed of large pedunculated

hermaphrodite A hermaphrodite () is a sexually reproducing organism that produces both male and female gametes. Animal species in which individuals are either male or female are gonochoric, which is the opposite of hermaphroditic. The individuals of many ...

flowers (two to six, or more) growing in the axils of the leaves. The flowers are labiate, arranged in pairs and are one-sided (all flowers "look" at the same side). They are usually white or pale pink with a large pinkish purple blotch on the lower lip. They are mainly pollinated by bees and moths. The flowering period extends from May through August.

Habitat

The plant grows in shady deciduous woods, often with oak, beech, and chestnut. It can also be found among pines and junipers. It is common at altitudes of above sea level.

Cultivation

Bastard balm grows well as an edging in a sunny woodland or a scrubby border. It is attractive to insects.

Cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

s include 'Royal Velvet Distinction'.

Gallery

File:Melittis melissophyllum 1.jpg, Form File:Lamiaceae - Melittis melissophyllum-3.JPG, Flowers File:Melittis melissophyllum 230506a.jpg, In white File:Melittis melissophyllum 'Royal Velvet'.jpg, 'Royal Velvet Distinction' File:Lamiaceae - Melittis melissophyllum-1.JPG, Leaf

Notes

References

* Pignatti S. - Flora d'Italia - Edagricole – 1982 Vol. II, pg. 452 * Pink, A. - Gardening for the Million (2004) - Project Gutenberg, Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation,
Gardening for the Million
* Klein Carol - How to grow ''Melittis melissophyllum'' - The Daily Telegraph

* Canadian Food Inspection Agency: Plant Breeders' Rights Office: "Royal Velvet Distinction" - 30 Apr 2007
''Melittis melissophyllum''

External links

Biolib

''Melittis melissophyllum''

Bastard Balm

Plants
* {{Taxonbar, from1=Q3854250, from2=Q158925 Lamiaceae Flora of Europe Monotypic Lamiaceae genera Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus