Melittis

{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants}} {{More footnotes needed|date=May 2026}} {{Speciesbox |name = Bastard balm |image = Melittis melissophyllum 010603.jpg |display_parents = 2 |genus = Melittis |parent_authority = L. |species = melissophyllum |authority = L. |synonyms_ref = <ref name=a>[http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=124140 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families]</ref> |synonyms = *''Melissophyllum'' Hill *''Oenonea'' Bubani *''Melittis melissifolium'' Salisb. *''Melissophyllum silvaticum'' St-Lager *''Melittis albida'' Guss. *''Melittis carpatica'' Klokov *''Melittis graeca'' Klokov *''Melittis grandiflora'' Sm. *''Melittis hispanica'' Klokov *''Melittis kerneriana'' Klokov *''Mellitis melissifolium'' Salisb *''Melittis sarmatica'' Klokov *''Melittis subcordata'' Klokov *''Melittis sylvestris''Lam. *''Melissa tragi'' Garsault *''Rehmannia chinensis'' Libosch. ex Fish. & Mey. *''Oenonea melissifolia'' Bubani }}

'''''Melittis melissophyllum''''' is a species of flowering plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae. Its common name is '''bastard balm'''. It is the only species in the monotypic genus '''''Melittis'''''.<ref name=scheen>Scheen, A. C., et al. (2008). [http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1096-0031.2007.00180.x/abstract Molecular phylogenetics of tribe Synandreae, a North American lineage of lamioid mints (Lamiaceae).] ''Cladistics'' 24(3) 299-314.</ref> The genus name is derived from the Greek ''melitta'', which is in turn from ''melissa'' ("a bee").<ref name="nic">Nicholson, G., et al. [https://books.google.com/books?id=vMlOAAAAYAAJ ''The Illustrated Dictionary of Gardening: Volume 4''.] L. Upcott Gill. 1887. pg. 347.</ref>

;Subspecies<ref name=a/> *''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, Britain and Portugal east to Turkey + Ukraine + Baltic States.<ref name=a/><ref>[http://luirig.altervista.org/flora/taxa/index1.php?scientific-name=melittis+melissophyllum Altervista Flora Italiana, Erba limona, Bastard Balm, ''Melittis melissophyllum'' L. ] includes photos + European distribution map</ref>

==Description== ''Melittis melissophyllum'' reaches on average {{convert|30|-|50|cm}} of height, with a minimum of {{convert|20|cm}} and a maximum of {{convert|60|cm}}. It is a strongly aromatic plant with erect hairy stems. The root of this plant is a perennial short rhizome. This species is quite variable in leaf-shape and corolla-color. The leaves reach {{convert|5|-|9|cm}} of length. They are oval, bluntly-toothed, quite hairy. They have a short petiole and are in opposite pairs up the stems. The inflorescence is composed of large pedunculated hermaphrodite 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 {{convert|0|-|1400|m}} above sea level.

==Cultivation== Bastard balm grows well as an edging in a sunny woodland or a scrubby border. It is attractive to insects. Cultivars include 'Royal Velvet Distinction'.

==Gallery== <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 </gallery>

==Notes== {{Reflist}}

==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| {{ISBN|1-4264-5707-3}} [http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11892 Gardening for the Million] * Klein Carol - How to grow ''Melittis melissophyllum'' - The Daily Telegraph - [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/howtogrow/3335387/How-to-grow-Melittis-melissophyllum.html How to grow] * Canadian Food Inspection Agency: Plant Breeders' Rights Office: "Royal Velvet Distinction" - 30 Apr 2007 - [http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/plaveg/pbrpov/cropreport/bas/app00003609e.shtml ''Melittis melissophyllum'']

==External links== * [https://www.biolib.cz/en/taxon/id41029/ Biolib] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20060924201058/http://www.bioimages.org.uk/HTML/T52573.HTM ''Melittis melissophyllum''] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927233318/http://www.plantpress.com/wildlife/o620-bastardbalm.php Bastard Balm] * [http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Melittis+melissophyllum Plants] * {{commons-inline|Melittis melissophylum}}

Category:Lamiaceae Category:Flora of Europe Category:Monotypic Lamiaceae genera Category:Botanical taxa named by Carl Linnaeus