Weeds of Australia - Fact Sheet

Top Scientific Name Synonyms Family Common Names Origin Naturalised Distribution Notes

Scientific Name

Melissa officinalis L.

Synonyms

Melissa officinalis L. subsp. officinalis

Family

Labiatae (South Australia)
Lamiaceae (Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT, Victoria, Tasmania, Western Australia and the Northern Territory)

Common Names

balm, balm mint, bee balm, bee herb, blue balm, citronella, common balm, dropsy plant, garden balm, gentle balm, lemon balm, melissa, melissa balm, sweet balm, sweet-balm

Origin

Native to north-western Africa (i.e. Morocco and Tunisia), the Madeira Islands, the Canary Islands, southern Europe (i.e. France, Portugal, Spain, Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Romania, Yugoslavia, Belarus, Ukraine and western Russia) and western Asia and northern Pakistan.

Naturalised Distribution

Naturalised in some parts of south-eastern Australia (i.e. in parts of central and southern New South Wales, southern Victoria, Tasmania and south-eastern South Australia).

Notes

Common balm (Melissa officinalis) is regarded as an environmental weed in Victoria, and it is thought to pose a serious threat to one or more vegetation formations in this state. This introduced species, which is grown as a garden herb, has become naturalised in damp habitats and invades creek banks, watercourses and drainage lines. It is listed as an environmental weed in the Goulburn Broken Catchment and has been recorded in Morwell National Park.

Common balm (Melissa officinalis) also grows in moist areas, usually along creeks, in South Australia and New South Wales. It has also been recorded from conservation areas in south-eastern South Australia (i.e. Horsnell Gully Conservation Park and Belair National Park).