Bastard balm - Melittis melissophyllum

• Add to Pick List
• Back to search results

Bastard balm - Melittis melissophyllum
© Dr Chris Gibson/English Nature

Bastard balm is a strongly aromatic plant with erect hairy stems. The flowers are white with a large pinkish purple blotch on the lower lip, and grow in the axils of the leaves. The oval, bluntly-toothed, leaves are in opposite pairs up the stems.

This is a tall plant which likes shady places and is ideal for a sunny woodland edge or scrubby border, where it will be attractive to bees and other insects. As a native, it is confined to southern England and West Wales, where it occurs on wood-edges and hedgebanks.

Animals

Bees and wasps

Foliage	Green
Flower	White, May to July
Moisture	(Dry)
Sunlight	(Part-shade)
Origin	Native