Lavandula angustifolia
(syn. L.officinalis)
An evergreen sub-shrub with a much-branched woody stem, the
square green shoots thickly covered with entire, linear leaves,
which at first are white-felted, later green. The small, bluish,
two-lipped flowers are arranged in spike-like terminal panicles
often interrupted below. The fruit consists of four nutlets. All
parts of the plant are aromatic.
The flowering stems or the flowers alone are used medicinally.
Among the constituents are an essential oil (up to 3 per cent)
with linalyl acetate, linalool, camphor and borneol as the main
components, also tannins (12 per cent). These give Garden
Lavender mild sedative, carminative, antispasmodic, rubefacient
and tonic properties. In herbalism it is still used internally
for headache, nervous disorders and insomnia, as a cough
suppressant and for flatulence, but mostly it is used externally
as a skin freshener. The essential oil, which is obtained from
the fresh plants by steam distillation, is a component of various
proprietary preparations.
The oil's chief use, however, is in perfumes, colognes and toilet
articles. It is also used to mask unpleasant odours in medicines.
Garden Lavender is a native of the west Mediterranean region but
it is widely grown in country gardens and it has become
naturalised in some warm parts of Europe, but not in the British
Isles. Lavender is also cultivated on a large scale for its oil,
most, of which are contained in special glands on the calyx.
Lavender oil is mainly produced in the south of France, but also
in minor quantities elsewhere. In Britain it is produced not from
L. angustifolia, but from a related species, L. intermedia, which
is a hybrid of L. angustifolia and Spike Lavender (L. latifolia
or L. spica). The generic name, Lavandula, is thought to derive
from the Latin word lavare (= to wash), a reference to the
Romans' habit of using Lavender to perfume their washing water.
The plant remains one of the most popular and well known of the
traditional herbs.
Flowering time: July to August