Vietnamese balm
Elsholtzia ciliata (Thunb.) Hyl.
Vietnamese balm (Elsholtzia ciliata) is an aromatic herb with toothed leaves and a mild lemony-mint aroma, essential in Vietnamese beef noodle soup and rice porridge, and used to treat colds and fever.
No ratings yet — be the first!
Gallery
Vietnamese balm — PlantVietnamese balm — Plant
Vietnamese balm — Plant
Vietnamese balm — Plant
Vietnamese balm — Plant
Vietnamese balm — PlantVietnamese balm — PlantVietnamese balm — PlantOverview
An annual herb 30–80 cm tall with a slender square stem and branches. Leaves are opposite, pointed-ovate and evenly toothed; dense spikes at the tips bear small pale-purple flowers that release fragrance when crushed.
The whole herb contains a lemony oil (elsholtzione) and tastes pungent and cool; besides being eaten raw, it is decocted for colds, headache and fever without sweating. It grows wild on moist ground and is grown around homes from annual sowings.
Life cycle
From seed to productSeed
Small seeds are sown each year and germinate quickly in moist, sunny soil.
Young plant
Young plants grow quickly into green leafy clumps ready for cutting.
Flowering
Dense pale-purple spikes appear at the tips late in the season; seeds are collected when ripe.
Distribution & origin
Share of recorded occurrences by region- Vietnam26%
- China26%
- India · Himalaya18%
- Japan · Korea15%
- Other Southeast Asia15%
Chemical composition
Relative content in agarwood resin- ElsholtzioneSignature lemon aroma45%
- Geranial · NeralLemongrass note27%
- LimoneneCitrus10%
- 1,8-Cineole · othersLightly cooling18%
Uses
- Eaten raw with beef noodles, porridge and balut
- Decoction for colds, fever and headache
- Home herb, easily grown around the house
Properties
- Leaf
- Ovate, evenly toothed
- Aroma
- Mild lemon-mint
- Taste
- Pungent, cool-warm
Habitat & conservation
Moist village edges, field borders, roadsides and waste ground from warm temperate to tropical zones; in Vietnam usually grown in home gardens.
Conservation
Not globally threatened (IUCN: Least Concern). It grows wild and is widely cultivated with no significant concern.
References
- 1Plants of the World Online — Elsholtzia ciliata — Kew Science, 2024
- 2IUCN Red List — Elsholtzia ciliata — IUCN, 2019
- 3Essential oil of Elsholtzia ciliata — Chem. Nat. Compd., 2014
- 4Hình ảnh minh hoạ lấy từ Wikimedia Commons, tôn trọng giấy phép ghi kèm — Wikimedia Commons,
- 5Nguồn ảnh: Prenn (CC BY-SA 3.0), Wikimedia Commons — Wikimedia Commons,
- 6Nguồn ảnh: Fagus (Public domain), Wikimedia Commons — Wikimedia Commons,
- 7Nguồn ảnh: Pseudoanas (talk) (Public domain), Wikimedia Commons — Wikimedia Commons,
- 8Nguồn ảnh: Leslie J. Mehrhoff, University of Connecticut, Bugwood.org (CC BY 3.0 us), Wikimedia Commons — Wikimedia Commons,