Melissa officinalis

Lemon balm, Lemon Balm

Family: Lamiaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Lemon balm is a naturalized perennial found in northwestern California, the northern Sierra Nevada foothills, and central western areas in moist meadows and fields at elevations below 800 meters. Flowering from June to September, this plant produces white to cream-colored flowers occasionally tinged with lavender, clustered in small groups of 4 to 12 blooms. Growing with branched stems 20 to 150 centimeters tall that are finely glandular hairy, it spreads with multiple erect stems. Its leaves are broadly ovate, 2 to 14 centimeters long and 1.5 to 7 centimeters wide, with softly scalloped edges. The plant's delicate glandular stems and softly textured leaves make it a distinctive herb in moist habitats.

Habitat: Moist sites, meadows, fields

Bloom period: Jun-Sep

Elevation: < 800 m

Bioregions: NW, CaRF, n SNF, CW

California counties: Butte, Siskiyou, Humboldt, Santa Cruz, Alameda, Santa Clara, Tuolumne, Sonoma, San Mateo, Mendocino, San Bernardino, Inyo, San Diego, Shasta, Los Angeles, Amador, El Dorado, Contra Costa, San Luis Obispo, Sutter, Monterey, Napa, Tulare, Marin, Nevada, Trinity, Orange

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.