Lavender is native to the entire Mediterranean region and is also cultivated there on a larger scale. In southern France, for example, the dense purple lavender fields are a popular postcard motif. The drug material comes from Spain, France and Eastern Europe, where commercial cultivation also takes place.
Use in herbal medicine
In herbal medicine, the dried flowers (Lavandulae flos) stripped just before flowering are used. The essential oil (Lavandulae aetheroleum) extracted from the inflorescences just before flowering is also used.
Lavender: special characteristics
Lavender is a semi-shrub about 0.5 m high with silvery gray, small, lanceolate leaves. The leaves initially feel velvety due to the dense pubescence, later they become increasingly bald. The small purple flowers are arranged on a long stem in spike-like inflorescences.
Spontaneous crossing of Lavandula angustifolia and Lavandula latifolia results in the so-called lavandin, which is mainly cultivated. The genus name Lavandula is a derivative of the Latin word “lavare”, which means “to wash”. This is based on the fact that in the past people liked to add lavender to the washing water or bath.
Lavender flowers as a medicine
The main component of the drug is the blue-gray calyxes, which have five teeth. In addition, there are strongly shrunken petals, which are fused into a tube.
Smell and taste of lavender
Lavender exudes a very characteristic, intensely aromatic odor. Because of the pleasant smell, lavender is used, for example, for scented sachets. The sachets filled with lavender then spread their aromatic scent in closets.
In terms of taste, lavender flowers are quite bitter.
