Received: February 23rd, 2022 ; Accepted: May 22nd, 2022 ; Published: July 30th, 2022 ; Correspondence: [email protected] aim of the research is to comprehensively compare the anatomical and morphological
structures of plants of Melissa officinalis subsp. officinalis (‘Krymchanka’ and ‘Lada’ varieties)
and of M. officinalis subsp. аltissima (Sm.) Arcang. These plants have pronounced differences in
morphological features and production indexes. They are grown in the collection of aromatic
plants of the Research Institute of Agriculture of the Crimea (Krymskaya Roza village,
Belogorsky district of Crimea). These studies will allow us to supplement the botanical
characteristics of both subspecies of M. officinalis, and also to evaluate their plasticity and
possibilities of adaptation to growing conditions. For examination we collected plants in the
flowering phase. Anatomical study was carried out using a fixed (alcohol: glycerin : water in a
ratio of 1: 1: 1) and native preparation. A complex of mesomorphic and xeromorphic characters
is established, that confirms the high plasticity and determines the adaptive capabilities of the
species when introduced into various soil and climatic conditions. A variety of epidermal
structures was revealed, which are represented by single and multicellular non-glandular
trichomes and various types of glandular structures. Among them, trichomes with a multicellular
pedicle and a unicellular head, which we found only in M. officinalis subsp. officinalis
