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Dracocephalum moldavica

Common name:	Moldavian Balm	Family:	Labiatae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	200, 266
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	E. Europe to E. Asia.
Habitat:	Dry hills, stony riverbanks and valleys at elevations from 200 - 2,700 metres in western China.
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	D. moldavicum[H] Moldavica moldavica[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Dragonhead [H], Melissa [E], Moldavian Balm [H], Moldavian Dragon's Head [H], Moldavian Dragonhead [B,P],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	draco = dragon
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Lamiales. Renamed to Lamiaceae -- Mint family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Europe India

Physical Characteristics

Annual growing to 0.25m. It is hardy to zone 7. It is in flower from July to August. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Leaves Tea.

The lemon-scented leaves are used to make a tea[183].
Young shoots[183]. No further details are given.

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Astringent Carminative Tonic Vulnerary.

The seeds are astringent, carminative and tonic[240]. They are used as a demulcent in the treatment of fevers[240].
The plant is astringent, tonic and vulnerary[240].

Other Uses

Essential.

The plant contains an essential oil, this is a possible source of citral[240].

Cultivation details

Succeeds in a sunny position in a fertile well-drained soil[200].
The plant is sometimes cultivated for its essential oil[266].
The plant is very fragrant[200], with both the leaves and the flowers emitting a most refreshing scent of lemons[245]. The flowers remain fragrant and fresh for several weeks[245]. It is a useful plant for filling gaps in the summer border[200].

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring in situ. Pinch back the shoot tips in May in order to encourage bushy growth[200].

Scent

Flowers: Fresh: The flowers emit a most refreshing smell of lemon.
Leaves: Crushed: The leaves emit a most refreshing smell of lemon.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Dracocephalum moldavicum (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database

References for dracocephalum moldavica (a possible synonym).

[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

[266] Flora of China 1994
On-line version of the Flora - an excellent resource giving basic info on habitat and some uses.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

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