General:
Lemon-scented, perennial herb from a woody rhizome or elongate stem-base and fibrous roots; stems erect, 30-100 cm tall, branched, somewhat hairy and glandular-hairy, 4-angled; cultivated for sweet scent.

Leaves:
Opposite, lower soon deciduous, middle stem leaves egg-shaped, 4-9 cm long, 2.5-5 cm wide, coarsely blunt-toothed, becoming glabrous, stalks more than half as long as blades; uppermost leaves gradually reduced, tapering to shorter stalks.

Flowers:
Inflorescence of several-flowered clusters in leaf axils at upper nodes; flower stalks 2-5 mm long; corollas tubular, white to pinkish, 8-15 mm long, 2-lipped, the upper lip hood-like, notched, the lower lip 3-lobed; calyces 7-9 mm long, 2-lipped, the upper lip shortly 3-toothed, the lower more deeply 2-toothed, the teeth firm, with spine tips, the tube ribbed, long soft-hairy.

Fruits:
Nutlets, 4 clustered together, egg-shaped, smooth.

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

Illustration Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Melissa officinalis subsp. officinalis