Wood bastard balm (Melittis melissophyllum)
Description
Melittis melissophyllum is a perennial herb in the lip flower family It is the only species in the genus Melittis It will be 20-60 cm tall with ascending stems, which are usually not branched. The plant smells. The leaves are oblong to heart-shaped, rough, 3-9 cm long with a short stalk. The flowers sit in one-sided 1-3 together in the upper leaf corners; They are white, pink or two-color and 25-40 mm long. The crown tube is much longer than the beard. Flowering times are May-July. Melitti melissophyll grows in shady, calcareous places in foliage and birch forests. In Switzerland it is common in three types of vegetation: forest fox beech forest ( Cephalanthero-Fagenion ), Duneik forest ( Quercion pubescenti-petraeae ) and Blue- pine forest ( Molinio-Pinion ). In France it appears with pine broom dune, blackfuru and Corsica chestnut The species is widespread in Europe and Anatolia northwards to the UK BelgiumGermany Poland and Belarus
Taxonomic tree
-
Domain: Eukarya
-
-
Kingdom: Plantae
-
-
Phylum:
-
-
Class: Magnoliopsida
-
-
Order: Lamiales
-
-
Family: Lamiaceae
-
-
Genus: Melittis
-
-
-
-
-
-
