Aurea

Aurea is a variegated lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), a bushy herbaceous perennial to about 30 cm tall with square stems and toothed, wrinkled dark green leaves heavily splashed gold along the margins. In summer it carries leafy whorled spikes of pale, lilac-tinted white flowers that draw bees. Its crushed foliage releases the strong lemon fragrance of the species and is used the same way in teas and cooking. Grown in full sun in well-drained soil, it is cut back in early summer for a fresh flush of vivid color and propagated by division or cuttings, since it will not hold its variegation from seed.