Amateur gardeners willingly grow various aromatic herbs in their summer cottages. Many of these plants belong to the Lamiaceae family. They are beautiful and useful: they are good in a flower bed, brew them with tea, and add them to jam... And if necessary, you can use them for treatment! Basil and mint, hyssop and lavender, sage and anafalis and many others. And the most common among them are catnip and lemon balm. They are often confused. In fact, these plants are very similar. It is all the more important to talk about them and understand the differences. Read the description carefully and you will understand what lemon balm or catnip is growing in you.
Catnip (Nepeta cataria L.) is a mysterious plant in all respects. It is considered native to us, but at the same time it grows not in forests and meadows, but in wastelands and along the sides of trails, and this is how alien plants grow, from alien flora.
The name is catnip, or catnip, and at the same time cats do not show any interest in it (not like valerian, wheatgrass and some other grains!).
The plant has a distinct aromatic lemon smell, but this smell does not seem to benefit it...
Let's take a closer look at it.
Catnip is a perennial herbaceous plant with a branched rhizome, tough and almost woody. Erect above-ground shoots up to half a meter high (and in culture even higher) extend from the rhizome. They are pubescent, tetrahedral, with opposite branches and opposite leaves (photo 3).
The leaves of the catnip are ovate, pointed, with a heart-shaped base. Remember this sign (photo 6). The plates are jagged, pubescent, on petioles, only the uppermost ones are sessile, narrowed at the base.
The flowers are collected in whorls, which in turn are collected in short racemes on the tips of the shoots of its upper branches (photo 1).
The flower structure is typical for most Lamiaceae. The calyx is sphenoid, 57 mm long, bell-shaped, slightly bent, with five teeth and 15 veins.
The corolla is irregular, two-lipped, protruding from the calyx. It is up to 10 mm long, white-pink. The upper lip is almost flat, forked, the lower lip is trilobed. There are four stamens inside the corolla. Two of them, located at the upper lip, are longer than the other two. There is one pistil, its style has a two-lobed stigma. The ovary is superior, four-lobed, so the fruit consists of four nuts. Catnip blooms from June until almost September.
The leaves and stems of catnip contain essential oil, which gives it an aroma, as well as other medicinal substances, which is why it is used in folk medicine.
In addition to the usual form, in nature You can find a form with an intense lemon smell, which gardeners often transplant to their plots.
Now let's try to reveal the secrets of catnip. This is a forest-steppe plant and grows naturally along the edges of steppe oak forests, of which we have almost none left. It has been brought to our north; partly unintentionally, partly as useful, aromatic. Here the catnip went wild and, like any alien and wild plant, took refuge in open places. That's why there is a lot of it in vacant lots.
Now about its name. In the folk nomenclature of plants, many herbs that are somewhat similar to well-known useful plants have derogatory names. This is bird buckwheat, which has seeds similar to buckwheat, but very small, which only birds can eat. This is the mouse pea, the seeds of which are so similar to the seeds of real peas, only small and bitter. This is catnip, the smell of which is so reminiscent of real mint.
By the way, about the smell of many aromatic plants: the smell is useful not only to people, but also to the plants themselves. The fact is that this aroma repels herbivores. Cattle do not eat mint, oregano, or catnip.
And now MELISSA (Melissa officinalis L.). In its appearance it is very similar to the catnip. This is also a perennial herbaceous plant with a developed rhizome. Blooms at the same time. The same fruits and nuts. Same lemony smell. Aboveground shoots are the same height as those of catnip and also branch. The leaves are also located oppositely.
Melissa flowers are also collected in whorls, and the whorls are in racemes, but they are not so dense and spaced (photo 2). The inflorescence is leafy.
Spicy and medicinal plants are not uncommon in gardens these days. Among them, mint and lemon balm are very popular.
So how do the plants growing in our country differ from each other? mint, lemon balm, catnip?
All plant species of these genera have their own rather pronounced, characteristic morphological (botanical) characteristics and a certain composition of biologically active (and a number of other) chemical substances.
More than 600 species of mints grow around the globe, 25 of them are common in the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere. There are 14 species found in our country, but only peppermint is of greatest cultural importance.
Peppermint
Mint has a special specific only for this plant smell. Its leaves contain 2.4-2.7% essential oil, in stems it is 0.3%, in inflorescences 4-6%. The main component of this oil is menthol. The NPO All-Union Research Institute of Medicinal Plants has created highly productive varieties for the medical industry: Moskvichka, Medicinal I, Medichka, Chernolistnaya, hybrids Medicinal 2 and Medicinal 3 with a menthol content in oil of up to 80%.
The lemon balm genus is represented by 5 species. Only one grows in the USSR - lemon balm.
The leaves of the plant contain from 0.02 to 0.1% essential oil, which is highly valued in perfumery. The oil contains up to 60% citral and about 5% citronellal, as well as geraniol.
Catnip
Catnip is widespread in Europe and Asia and is represented by 250 species. 82 species grow in our country. Of these, the most interesting form is the catnip Nepeta cataria. The oil it contains (up to 3%) has a strong lemon smell, characteristic of lemon balm, although the chemical composition of the oils and its quantity are different. It is used in perfumery, confectionery production, and soap making.
The Musina catnip grows in the Caucasus. Its leaves contain up to 0.25% essential oil, and its grass contains 0.1-0.4%. This species has a different, more pungent minty-camphor smell.
Mint, lemon balm and catnip differ
These plants even differ in their growing areas. So, if catnip is found most often in the forest-steppe zone of the European part of the USSR, in the Caucasus, Crimea, Western Siberia, Kazakhstan, in the Far East (an alien species), then mint grows mainly in the more southern regions of the European part, in the Caucasus, in Central Asia; lemon balm is also a plant in the more southern zones of our country.
Each plant also has local names in accordance with its ethnobotanical characteristics.
Peppermint is known by names such as cold mint, chilli mint, chilli mint, and English mint. In Belarus it is called mint, in Azerbaijan - yartyz, in Armenia - katvahog, in Georgia - spots.
We often find lemon balm under the name lemon balm. Among the locals, it is the queen plant, the swarmer, the bee plant, the honey plant, and the papaya grass. In Azerbaijan - bandrenj, in Armenia - patrinj, in Georgia - barashbo.
Has many local names catnip: steppe mint, cat grass, catnip, forest nettle, sore grass, cherry grass, morning grass, horehound, fragrant horehound...
In Azerbaijan, catnip is called pishik napesi, in Armenia - vayridakhts, in Georgia - katapitna, in Tataria - tash yarnuzu.
The most characteristic differences
The differences between these three species are associated with their botanical and morphological characteristics. Peppermint flowers are small, bisexual, pale purple in color, collected at the top of the stem in capitate-spike-shaped inflorescences. In lemon balm they are yellowish, white, pinkish or purple, sessile, collected in 3-5, sometimes 10 in false whorls in the axils of the upper leaves. And catnip has flowers on short pedicels (1-1.5 mm), a calyx 5.5-7.5 mm long, with a short five-toothed limb. The corolla is 7.5-10 mm long with a bilabial bend, off-white in color. Has characteristic purple or violet specks on the lower lip, rarely without them.
Let's take a closer look at the description catnip.
This is a perennial herbaceous plant 40-100 cm in height with a woody, branched root. Its stem, unlike mint and lemon balm, is strong, erect, softly fluffy, and branched. The leaves are opposite, triangular-ovate with a heart-shaped base, acute, coarsely toothed, pubescent, grayish below, densely pubescent. All leaves are petiolate and the petioles are fluffy.
The flowers are collected in complex, dense semi-umbrellas, tassels located at the ends of the stems and in the axils of the branches. The upper semi-umbrellas are few-flowered, dense, almost sessile, the lower ones are on peduncles up to 1.5-2 cm long, more loose. The bracts are linear-subulate, shorter than the calyx. One of the characteristic features that distinguishes catnip from mint and lemon balm is that its two middle stamens are longer than the two lateral ones. The calyx of catnip is cylindrical, tubular or obverse-conical - in lemon balm it is bell-shaped, two-lipped or straight, and in mint it is funnel-shaped or tubular-bell-shaped.
The fruit of the catnip is a nut, ellipsoidal in shape, brown, smooth, 1.3-1.5 mm long and 0.8-1.0 mm wide. Mint's fruits are blunt, rough, sometimes with hairs at the top, while lemon balm's are ovoid, strongly tapered towards the base, and smooth.
We hope that, now knowing these distinctive features, the reader will not confuse mint, lemon balm and catnip.
Based on materials from the magazine “Homestead Farming”, 1989.
A. Rabinovich, Doctor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Professor of Botany
2167
Melissa is best grown in well-lit, elevated areas.
Catnip has a peculiar smell and bitter taste.
In the huge list of medicinal plants, lemon balm (lemon balm) and catnip occupy a special place: they are easy to grow, and they bring enormous benefits.
Melissa is a perennial herbaceous plant 50-120 cm high, its stems are branched, pubescent, and the lower shoots are creeping. Melissa has a pleasant lemon aroma. Melissa's inflorescences are sessile, the flowers are small, white, yellowish-white, light purple or light pink. The inflorescences are located in the axils of the upper leaves; there are no flowers at the ends of the branches.
Melissa is rich in vitamin C, carotene, tannins and essential oil with a strong lemon scent. It has a diaphoretic and laxative effect, enhances the activity of the digestive organs, improves appetite, eliminates cramps, reduces and relieves pain, calms the nervous system, has a beneficial effect on the activity of the heart, and lowers blood pressure.
Catnip (catmint, fragrant horehound) is a perennial herbaceous plant with a height of 40 to 100 cm or more. Its stems are erect, strong (unlike lemon balm), bare or slightly pubescent. The flowers are small, white or
light blue, collected in elongated inflorescences at the ends of the stems. Catnip has a unique smell (reminiscent of lemon, rose and geranium) and a pleasant bitter taste that attracts cats (hence the name).
The fruits of catnip and lemon balm are small, brown or black. There are two white dots on the fruits of catnip, by which you can distinguish the fruits of this plant from lemon balm (it does not have dots). Catnip has antipyretic, anti-cold, diaphoretic, sedative and hemostatic effects. It increases appetite, helps with headaches, shortness of breath, cough, exhaustion, anemia, neurasthenia, restless sleep, biliary and gastrointestinal colic.
On a note
The fruits of catnip and lemon balm are small, brown or black. There are two white dots on the fruits of catnip, by which you can distinguish the fruits of this plant from lemon balm (it does not have dots). Catnip has antipyretic, anti-cold, diaphoretic, sedative and hemostatic effects. It increases appetite, helps with headaches, shortness of breath, cough, exhaustion, anemia, neurasthenia, restless sleep, biliary and gastrointestinal colic.
Melissa and catnip grow well in our conditions and are not difficult to grow. Their agricultural technology is the same. These crops are propagated by seeds and by dividing bushes. You can sow the seeds directly into the soil in late autumn or early spring in grooves 0.5-1 cm deep. After sowing, the seeds are sprinkled with peat or sand: lightly in the spring, 0.5-1 cm in the fall. But it’s even better to sow them at the end March - early April for seedlings - in a greenhouse, hotbed or at home.
Melissa and catnip grow better on humus-rich loamy or sandy loam soils; they can grow on non-acidic peat bogs, but not on heavy clays and acidic soils. The soil should be moderately moist, as they cannot withstand waterlogging. These plants are light-loving; they need to be grown in illuminated, elevated areas. However, it should be noted that catnip is more shade-tolerant. They grow well in one place for 5-6 years, but they can last longer.
After sowing or planting seedlings, it is advisable to cover the beds with covering material to retain moisture in the soil. In the future, if necessary, watering, weeding, loosening, and fertilizing are carried out. If the soil is fertile, then fertilizers may not be applied. On insufficiently fertile soil for digging, you need to add 1 square meter. m 2-4 kg of humus and 60-80 g of ash or 30-40 g of complex mineral fertilizer (nitroammophosphate and others). Fertilizing can be done with slurry (1 liter of slurry per 10 liters of water) or a solution of complex fertilizer (1 tablespoon per 10 liters of water).
For medicinal purposes, in the budding phase, the tops of the stems (up to 20-30 cm long) are cut off and dried in the shade at a temperature of 25-30°C. It is better to store dried plants in tightly closed glass jars for no more than a year so that they do not lose their beneficial substances and aroma. During the season, you can cut 2-3 shoots and leaves.
Infusions, decoctions, tinctures, herbal teas are prepared from lemon balm and catnip, and they are also used for aromatic medicinal baths, compresses, and lotions.
Infusion. A tablespoon of chopped lemon balm or catnip herb is poured with a glass of boiling water and left for 30-60 minutes. Take 0.5 cups 3-4 times a day before meals.
Herbal tea. 2-3 teaspoons of lemon balm or catnip, or better yet a mixture of these herbs, pour a glass of boiling water. Leave for 5 minutes and drink hot. You can add a little of any tea. This tea is especially good made from fresh leaves. After working in the country, it helps to relax, relieve fatigue, and works great as a sleeping pill.
Infusion of lemon balm with marjoram. A tablespoon of the crushed mixture of these herbs is poured into a glass of boiling water and left for 1-2 hours. Take 1/3-1/2 cup 3 times a day to improve memory.
In summer cottages and near private estates, aromatic plants such as mint and lemon balm are often found. Most people have probably brewed them as tea more than once, but you can’t always be sure which plant is in front of you. They have a similar appearance and aroma, which is why confusion arises. This article will tell you how to distinguish mint from lemon balm and what the characteristic features of each plant are.
Are mint and lemon balm the same thing?
To better understand the differences between these two plants, let's turn to botany. Mint is a genus of plants of the Lamiaceae family, all species of which have a strong aroma, and many of them also contain a large amount of menthol.
Did you know?The name of the genus comes from the name of the nymph Minta, the goddess of Mount Mente, which is located in Elis. According to legend, she was the beloved of the god of the underworld Hades, for which his wife turned the nymph into a plant.
Melissa officinalis is a perennial essential oil herbaceous plant, which, like mint, belongs to the Yamnotaceae family, only it has a different genus - Melissa.
Melissa and mint have significant differences in other characteristics, so we can say with confidence that these are different plants, although it is often believed that mint is lemon balm.
How to distinguish mint and lemon balm by appearance
If you look carefully at both plants, you will probably notice that they have differences in appearance. Mint has a straight stem, and purple flowers are collected in inflorescences that resemble ears. The plant does not grow higher than one meter, although in most cases it is even lower (up to 30 cm). The leaves are mostly oval, but can also be lanceolate with a pointed end. The roots are thin, fibrous.
Fruiting in mint is quite rare, but if you are lucky enough to see mint fruit, it will be slightly rough and may have hairs at the top. It contains four small nuts inside. 
In lemon balm, the stem branches (has hairs on the surface), and the flowers are collected in false rings (6-12 pieces in each) and are painted in purple tones. The maximum height of the plant reaches 1.5 meters, although it is usually somewhat lower. The leaves, like the fruit, are characterized by an oval (ovoid) shape.
Did you know? According to popular belief, mint can prolong human life, which is why in ancient times it could be found near almost every home.
Is the smell of lemon balm and mint different?
Perhaps the most characteristic difference between mint and lemon balm is the smell. Mint has pronounced aphrodisiac properties and is distinguished by a refreshing menthol aroma. Melissa is also characterized by a pleasant smell, but not so rich, with a predominance of light lemon notes. This plant is a large honey plant, so it is well suited for growing near apiaries.
The difference between mint and lemon balm in terms of aromatic properties is more noticeable than when visually examining the plants, which is why many summer residents distinguish them only thanks to this nuance.
Significant difference in chemical composition and properties
It is no secret that mint has an excellent tonic effect, and lemon balm has a good calming effect, which is largely explained by their chemical composition. Thus, mint contains a large amount of essential oils, and is also high in saturated acids (0.246 g), fats (0.94 g) and dietary fiber (8 g). In addition, the plant contains many vitamins: A, B1, B2, B3, B6, B9, C, PP, and among the minerals there are copper, manganese, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, iron, potassium and sodium. Thanks to this composition, the difference between lemon balm and mint is also the analgesic effect of the latter, as well as its anti-inflammatory, diuretic and choleretic properties.
The chemical composition of lemon balm is in many ways similar to that of mint. Of course, it does not contain fatty acids and dietary fiber, but it consists of the same vitamins and minerals, only in a different concentration. Melissa contains vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, B9 and vitamin C, as well as the already mentioned copper, zinc, phosphorus, sodium, manganese, calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron.
So, we have already found out how lemon balm differs from mint in terms of appearance and chemical properties, but this does not mean that you will not confuse these plants with others similar to them. If we take into account only the external similarity and do not take into account the aromatic qualities, then dead nettle (white nettle) and some other representatives of the Yamnotaceae family are very similar to mint: creeping tenacious, European sage, common dubrovnik, common odoriferous, common blackhead and catnip.
Important!Most mints are hardy plants that grow very well, so there's a good chance you'll see mint in parts of the garden where you didn't plant it.
Moreover, mint itself also has many varieties, the most common of which are:
- peppery(most often bred for use in cooking, medicine or for household purposes);
- curly(characterized by a delicate aroma and the absence of a sharp cooling taste);
- Japanese(distinguished by rather large purple flowers);
- longifolia(grown on plantations to obtain essential oil);
- meadow(presented in the form of a wild plant, which most often grows throughout the entire area);
- catnip or catnip(the most attractive species for cats, which, like lemon balm, has a slight lemon smell).
Some gardeners often confuse lemon balm and catnip, but in fact, these two plants have significant differences. First of all, the chemical composition of the oils and their quantity cannot be called the same, although the aroma of this plant is very reminiscent of lemon balm. The growing area of these plants also differs. While catnip is more often found in the forest-steppe zone, in the Crimea, the Caucasus or the Far East, mint and lemon balm prefer the southern regions. 
Distinguish catnip from lemon balm!
Some gardeners strive to grow medicinal plants in addition to traditional crops. Gardeners often want to have lemon balm in their garden as a medicinal plant. They call her Melissa for a reason. Indeed, the herb of this plant contains: essential oil with a strong lemon scent (it contains citrel, myrcene), vitamin C (ascorbic acid), tannins, resins, caffeic and ursolic acids. In folk medicine, lemon balm is used as a sedative, analgesic, antispasmodic, anticonvulsant, and cardiac agent. It slows down heart rate and lowers blood pressure. Melissa gives a good therapeutic effect for migraines, insomnia, hysteria, increased sexual excitability, and various neuralgia. Melissa officinalis is used for shortness of breath, asthma, flatulence, as well as for furunculosis and other skin diseases. Melissa is used for atherosclerosis, neuroses, hysteria, insomnia, and heart disease. Infusions and decoctions of lemon balm are recommended for painful menstruation, to stimulate menstruation, toxicosis of pregnancy and during menopause. Melissa infusion is also useful for reducing spasms in the intestines and improving appetite, with high fever and cough. Melissa is used externally, in the form of a paste of leaves, for bruises, swelling and abscesses. You can brew it as tea.
It is possible to treat with this herb, but before you use or buy this plant, make sure that what you are looking at is really lemon balm. The fact is that for the relatively rare lemon balm, some ignorant or unscrupulous sellers can sell the more common catnip (also known as lemon or mint) - a plant from the same family of Lamiaceae (Lapiaceae). Catnip also has beneficial properties, but the spectrum of action is somewhat different from that of lemon balm. Personally, I like catnip even better as an evening tea because of the smell, however When a person brews an herb as a medicinal one and expects to get the corresponding effect, he must be firmly convinced that it is lemon balm that he is brewing.
Therefore, it is necessary to distinguish between these plant species. They differ in the arrangement of flowers and the shape of leaves and smell. In lemon balm, the flowers are located in the axils of the leaves, in catnip they are crowded at the top of the stems, the leaves of lemon balm are oval, and in catnip they are triangular-ovate.
The medicinal raw materials of lemon balm are the leaves and tips of the shoots. They are collected before flowering. After each pruning of leaves, the plants are fed. The raw materials are dried in a well-ventilated area, in the shade or in a dryer at a temperature of 35 ° C, laid out in a thin layer. Shelf life 2 years.
They grow lemon balm in one place without transplanting for 3-5 years, occasionally up to 10 years. Propagated by seeds, seedlings, dividing bushes or old rhizomes. This should be done in autumn or early spring. Plants regrow well after moderate pruning of young above-ground shoots for food and medicinal use. Melissa is also grown as a houseplant in pots on windows.
Melissa is a fairly cold-resistant plant, despite its southern origin. It overwinters in the open ground, and in the spring the blossoming leaves can withstand light frosts without damage. However, in some winters it freezes even in the central zone of the European part of Russia.
In conclusion, I would like to note the following: if it turns out that the plant that you thought was lemon balm actually turned out to be catnip, do not destroy it, since its decoction increases the body’s defenses, has a positive effect on the cardiovascular and nervous systems of the body and can be used for anemia, cough, liver diseases, jaundice, intestinal atony, hysteria, headaches, gynecological diseases, and also as an anthelmintic. Catnip essential oil has antimicrobial activity and inhibits mold fungi mucor, penicillium and aspergillus (a black fungus that often grows on onions). Also, some may like the smell of it, although some people prefer the scent of lemon balm.
