Kids Captain Concentrate™

Lemon Balm is an aromatic monoecious herbaceous perennial that grows approximately one to two feet in height.^3,4,5 Leaves are opposite in position, hairy and heart or ovately shaped with a toothed or crenate margin.^3,4,5 Stems are characteristic of the Lamiaceae family — square-shaped, hairy and branched.^3,5 Flowers are white to yellow to pinkish in color and arise from the leaf axils.^3,4,5 They are small and tubular with two lips, and the lower lip has three lobes.^3,9 Seeds are dry, smooth nutlets.⁹

Passionflower is a fast-growing, evergreen in tropical climates, climbing, herbaceous perennial that can reach about 20 feet (approximately 6 meters).^2,3 Its hollow, lignified and slightly pubescent stems are often referred to as vines, with axillary tendrils to support climbing.^2,3,6 The dark green leaves are alternately spaced and palmately shaped with three to five lobes and a serrate margin with a whiteish underside.^2,5,6 The large fringed flowers are solitary on a long peduncle with five white to purple petals and five sepals with lavender, pink or purple filamented crowns.^2,3,6 Spreading occurs by root suckers and stolons from creeping, above-ground stems.³ Its fleshy fruits are egg-shaped berries that turn from green to yellow when mature and edible in the fall.^5,6 The dark-colored, flattened seeds are numerous and in an ovoid shape enclosed in a yellow to brown, arillate pulp.^2,6

Dandelion is a perennial plant with numerous sessile leaves that are arranged in a basal rosette.² The leaves have a smooth surface and unequally toothed lobes.² The hairless, hollow and unbranched stem grows from the center of the rosette coming from the root, making it a scape. ^2,6,7,8 The stem is taller than the leaves at about five to six inches in height.^2,6,7 The plant has terminal golden-yellow composite corolla consisting of ray and disc flowers at the tip of the stem.² The flower bases are covered with double involucre bracts, with the outer sepals facing down towards the ground.^2,8 The three to five inch long, fleshy taproot has a tan to brown dull skin with a white to yellowish interior that shows circular milk-vessels with radiating lines in cross-sections.²

The entire plant exudes a milky juice (latex) when the epidermis is disturbed or wounded.^2,11 The plant’s fruits are greenish-brown spindle-shaped achenes.⁶ The seeds are oblongly shaped with ribs and a threadlike beak at the apex that is covered with silky, white haired pappus for easy wind dispersal.² The pappus are positioned in a globular head that are approximately two inches in diameter.²

Lavender is a small, monoecious and woody perennial shrub.^3,6 It is slow growing, up to 4 feet (1.2 meters) in height and 3 feet, 3 inches (1 meter) wide.^3,6 The thin silver-grey evergreen leaves are oblong to lanceolate with an entire margin and are covered in dense wooly star-shaped hairs.^6,11 The leaves grow in tight groups on leafy shoots, while on the long flowering shoots they are broadly spaced out.¹¹ The branch bark peels along the length and is grey-brown to dark brown in color.¹¹ The flowers are small and bluish-purple to blue-grey when fresh that dry to an orange-brown color, which are surrounded by papery bracts.^6,11 The petals are tubular in shape, with a larger two-lobed upper lip and a smaller three-lobed lower lip that enclose four stamen.¹¹ The flowers are arranged in a crowded spike that can be intermittent or almost continuous along the stem with the inflorescences more crowded towards the tip.^6,11 The seeds are cylindrically shaped nutlets.¹¹