HERB - confused

[ND Wederstrandt]

>>I have recently bought a bee balm plant and a lamb's ear/wooly betony
>>plant on a impluse: so, what are these two plants' uses, anyways?
>
>If by bee balm you mean lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) then are
>you in for a treat. TONS of uses for this plant. But be aware that
>it has the same tendency and tenacity that mint does in taking over
>your garden. Detroit gardens are already growing past their first
>harvest of this plant.


Bee balm (monarcha) (latinese speelling there - no book today) is a very
nice tea plant.  Another common name is oswego tea.  use the leaves in your
tea.  It's can also sometimes be called bergamot as well.  It tastes
similiar to the tea you get in Earl Grey (to my mind)  It's not what
flavors it but but ut quite tasty.  We have two wild varieties growing in
Ansteorra.  Horsemint and Lemon horsemint.  Horsemint is rather camphory
and was used as an expectorant.  Lemon horsemint has a minty camphor taste
and is used as a tea as well. The flowers are edible as well.  Bee balm can
bloom in red,pink or yellowish.

Lambs ear is quite lovely.  It is used to as a styptic or blood staugher
for small wounds.  It was also used as toilet paper, and anything soft.  It
used to be byzantium and it has another latin name as well and I think
Jasmine's right.  It's both names.  i bought one thinking it was another
variety and found it's the same.  One's the old name and one's the newer.

Clare


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