Lemon Balm

Traditionally Used For

🌿 Calm & Nervous System Support

Lemon balm has traditionally been cherished as a gentle nervine—an herb used to soothe and support the nervous system.

Herbalists have traditionally prepared lemon balm as a tea or tincture during times of everyday tension, nervousness, emotional strain, or when a gentle evening herb is desired.

Rosemary Gladstar has written about lemon balm as a particularly valuable nervine and describes its character as both relaxing and gently uplifting. Her herbal recipes include lemon balm in calming and restorative tea blends.

Traditionally enjoyed for:

• Everyday stress and tension
• Nervous system support
• Relaxation
• Uplifting the spirits
• Evening wind-down
• Restful sleep

A Little History of Lemon Balm

Lemon balm has been loved for more than 2,000 years. Native to the Mediterranean region and parts of western Asia, this fragrant herb traveled throughout Europe and eventually found its way into gardens and herbal traditions around the world.

The ancient Greeks called lemon balm “melissa,” meaning honeybee, because bees are naturally drawn to its tiny flowers. Its relationship with bees is so closely woven into its history that the plant became a favorite around traditional beehives.

Lemon balm was known to classical herbalists, including Dioscorides, whose first-century work De Materia Medica described the plant and its traditional uses.

Over the centuries, lemon balm became a treasured plant in European monastery and household herb gardens. Herbalists valued it for its beautiful lemon scent and its traditional association with calm, digestion, and uplifting the spirit.