Melittis

Bastard balm
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Subfamily: Lamioideae
Genus: Melittis
L.
Species:
M. melissophyllum
Binomial name
Melittis melissophyllum
Synonyms[1]
  • Melissophyllum Hill
  • Oenonea Bubani
  • Melittis melissifolium Salisb.
  • Melissophyllum silvaticum St-Lager
  • Melittis albida Guss.
  • Melittis carpatica Klokov
  • Melittis graeca Klokov
  • Melittis grandiflora Sm.
  • Melittis hispanica Klokov
  • Melittis kerneriana Klokov
  • Mellitis melissifolium Salisb
  • Melittis sarmatica Klokov
  • Melittis subcordata Klokov
  • Melittis sylvestrisLam.
  • Melissa tragi Garsault
  • Rehmannia chinensis Libosch. ex Fish. & Mey.
  • Oenonea melissifolia Bubani

Melittis melissophyllum is a species of flowering plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae. Its common name is bastard balm. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Melittis.[2] The genus name is derived from the Greek melitta, which is in turn from melissa ("a bee").[3]

Subspecies[1]
  • Melittis melissophyllum subsp. albida (Guss.) P.W.Ball - eastern Mediterranean from Sardinia to Turkey
  • Melittis melissophyllum subsp. carpatica (Klokov) P.W.Ball - eastern Europe from Austria to Baltic States
  • Melittis melissophyllum subsp. melissophyllum - western Europe from Britain to Spain + Italy
  1. ^ a b Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. ^ Scheen, A. C., et al. (2008). Molecular phylogenetics of tribe Synandreae, a North American lineage of lamioid mints (Lamiaceae). Cladistics 24(3) 299-314.
  3. ^ Nicholson, G., et al. The Illustrated Dictionary of Gardening: Volume 4. L. Upcott Gill. 1887. pg. 347.