Description:
Lemon balm is a hearty perennial member of the mint family that is best known for its strong characteristic scent of, you guessed it, lemons. From a distance it can be easy for a greenhorn to mistake this plant for one of its other minty, Lamiaceae relatives, but if you pick it and rub it, expecting it to smell like that expensive natural toothpaste you hippies love so damn much then guess again motherfucker, LEMONS! Though the scent of Lemon Balm is pretty powerful, its flavor is actually quite different and much less on the citric side; sort of like Spearmint but without the mint.
Throughout history Lemon balm has been used to attract bees. This is an especially effective method because it contains chemicals that are similar to the pheromones found in the Nasonov gland in bees; which they used to mark areas that are a good source of nectar. Now, 90 percent of the time that people are trying to attract bees they’re doing it because they want the honey. But there’s that fucked up other 10 percent of the time people are trying to attract bees for reasons that are just no damn good. Personally, I have experienced, on one end or the other, most of what that 10 percent bracket has to offer and trust me, you just don’t wanna go there.
Growing Habits:
Varieties of Lemon Balm (there’s like, three of them) are Native to the Mediterranean and Asia. It now grows wildly throughout much of northern Europe, Canada, The Coastal United States and even Central Russia. Being a member of the mint family, it is an easy to grow perennial which can be propagated by seed, stems and root cuttings. This stuff grows like wildfire, and when grown in forests or other shaded areas it grows extra tall and its leaves become broader than they normally would growing in direct sunlight.
Therapeutic uses: Anxiolytic, Digestive aid, HSV1 and HSV2
Lemon Balm is most commonly used to treat anxiety and stress related ailments including insomnia. It is also a digestive aid and relaxes the digestive tract. Due to its soothing, antispasmodic nature, Lemon Balm is often useful against colds and stubborn coughs. Another interesting use for Lemon Balm that’s making some headway recently is its application in the treatment for HSV1, or, for you squeamish types, oral herpes. Aiight, so before you start going “EEEeeew!” and “Gross!”, take a deep breath and at least try and grow up. Plenty of people have the herp and live perfectly normal lives. I mean, it’s like, one of the most common STDs out there and there’s a good chance that at some point, you’ve had sex with someone who has either HSV1 or HSV2 (the genital kind) and you didn’t end up infected so just use protection, get tested and get over yourself. Anyways, studies have shown that several compounds found in Lemon Balm, including the triterpenes ursolic and oleanolic acids, showed significant antiviral activity against both HSV1 and HSV2 [Adil M. Allahverdiyev, … Olga Nehir Oztel, in Fighting Multidrug Resistance with Herbal Extracts, Essential Oils and Their Components, 2013]. Several of these studies have shown that when applied topically, Lemon Balm extract shortens the duration of an oral herpes outbreak if applied 3 to 4 times a day.
Chad’s Personal Recipe:
When I was studying for the bar exam (which I failed due to an extreme lack of interest) I was super stressed out and I couldn’t sleep for shit. So, instead of whining about it I let my balls drop and made a tasty sleepy time tea.
Ingredients: ½ tbs Dried crushed Lemon Balm leaves, 1 tsp dried chamomile flowers, 1 tsp dried catnip flowers
Put all the ingredients into one of those metal tea balls and pour boiling water over it into a mug. Let it steep until it’s cool enough to drink. Since it’s got catnip in it make sure you don’t have any cats around because they go crazy for this shit. One time I was dating this chick who had a bit fat orange tabby and one night after we were done banging it out I made a big cup of this tea because she passed out before we could get to round two. Big mistake. I sit down, for TWO SECONDS, naked as a motherfucker and this fat orange dick comes over, knocks the cup right out of my hands and spills this piping hot tea all over my junk. The burns were so bad that for a little while I thought I might have herpes. Luckily I had plenty of Lemon Balm on hand, thank god I didn’t need it.