Lavandula

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Washing plant in spring

Lavandula is a genus of plants in the family Lamiaceae, which contains about sixty species and infra-specific taxa accepted out of just over two hundred described; They are known as lavender, alhucema, lavender or lavender, among many other common names.

Description

Laundry outdoors

They are perennial suffruticose plants with quadrangular section stems, generally very leafy at the bottom, with narrowly lanceolate to broadly elliptic leaves, entire, toothed or divided several times, with simple, branched and glandular hairs. The inflorescence is spiciform, formed by more or less close whorls, frequently with long scapes. The bracts are different from the leaves, frequently coloured, the upper ones sometimes very different and protruding in a tuft or crown. The calyx has five small triangular teeth, the upper one generally ending in a more or less elliptical appendage, in the form of a small operculum that closes the throat of the calyx; the tube of the latter presents eight to fifteen nerves and does not have an internal ring of hairs (carpostegio). The corolla is bilabiate, lavender, lilac, blue or violet in color, rarely white; the upper lip has two lobes and the lower lip three, all of similar size. It has four didynamic stamens, the upper ones shorter, generally not protruding from the tube; the style is capitalized. The fruit is a tetra-nutlet, each ellipsoid in shape, brown in color.

Distribution

Wide distribution: from the Macaronesian region, throughout the Mediterranean basin, and scattered across the northern half of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and southern Asia as far as India. A few species, hybrids, have been introduced and cultivars in many countries for intensive cultivation intended essentially for distillation.

The case of Brihuega is remarkable, where tourists pose dressed in white among lavender fields.

Uses

These plants have been used since ancient times as ornamentals and to obtain essences, flavorings and seasonings. The most commonly used are lavender (L. angustifolia, L. latifolia) and lavandins of hybrid origin (abrial, super, grosso) and, to a lesser extent, L. dentata, L. stoechas and L. pedunculata. The amount of essential oil obtained varies according to the species, season and distillation method. This essence is mainly used in the toiletries and perfumery industries, and occasionally in ointments, etc., to mask unpleasant odors and to promote sleep. They are also used to repel mosquitoes.

Lavender essential oil

As indicated above, an essential oil can be extracted from Lavandula angustifolia lavender, which has sweet undertones and can be used in balms, perfumes, cosmetics and topical applications. Lavandula × intermedia, also known as lavandin or Dutch lavender, produces a similar essential oil, but with higher levels higher in terpenes, including camphor, which add a sharper tone to the fragrance.

Lavandina hybrids Lavandula × intermedia are a class of hybrids of Lavandula angustifolia and Lavandula latifolia. Lavandins are widely cultivated for commercial use, as their flowers tend to be larger than those of Lavender angustifolia and the plants are usually easier to harvest, but lavandin oil is considered by some to be of lower quality than lavandin oil. lavender angustifolia, with a less sweet perfume.

The US Food and Drug Administration considers lavender to be "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS) for human consumption. The essential oil was used in hospitals during World War I.

Phytochemical components

Some 100 individual phytochemical components have been extracted from lavender oil, including significant contents of linalyl acetate (30-55%), linalool (20-35%), tannins (5-10%), and caryophyllene (8 %)), with minor amounts of sesquiterpenoids, peryl alcohol, ester, oxide, ketone, cineole, camphor, beta-ocimene, limonene, caproic acid and caryophyllene oxide. The relative amounts of these compounds vary considerably between different lavender species.

Taxonomy

The genus was described by Carlos Linnaeus and published in Species Plantarum, vol. 2 P. 572 in 1753 and its expanded and detailed description in Genera Plantarum, nº630, p.249 in 1754.

Etymology

Lavandula: generic name derived from Old French lavandre and ultimately from Greek λανω a through Latin lǎvo, lǎvātum, -āre, 'to wash, clean', referring to the use of infusions from the plants for washing. However, it has been suggested that this explanation may be erroneous, and that the name could be derived from the Latin līvěo, -ēre, 'bluish', a much more plausible etymology than the previous one since, among other things, it refers to to the usual color of the flowers of these plants and, furthermore, there is no evidence that in ancient times it was washed with lavender.

Taxa in Spain

The following taxa are present in the Iberian Peninsula:

Natural	Hybrid
Lavandula angustifolia	Lavandula angustifolia angustifolia × latifolia
Lavandula angustifolia pyrenaica	Lavandula angustifolia pyrenaica × latifolia
Lavandula dentata	Lavandula angustifolia × dentata
Lavandula lanata	Lavandula dentata × wool,
Lavandula latifolia	Lavandula dentata × latifolia (chuckles) L. × heterophylla)
Multi-fida lantern	Lavandula lanata × latifolia
Lavandula pedunculata	Lavandula pedunculata × stoechas
Lavandula stoechas	Lavandula pedunculata × viridis
Lavandula stoechas luisieri	Lavandula stoechas × viridis
Lavandula stoechas stoechas
Lavandula viridis

The following endemic species are found in the Canary Islands:

Lavandula bramwelii Upson & S. Andrews
Lavandula buchii Webb
Lavandula canariensis Mill.
Lavandula minutelii Bolle
Lavandula pinnata L.f.

Taxonomic table

Table based on the classification of Upson and Andrews, 2004

Camp de Lavandas, Carshalton, Municipality of Sutton (London).

Lavadula pedunculata subsp. pedunculata in the Sierra de Ávila, Spain.

Cantuesos o espliegos,tomillos y botoneras en El Tiemblo

Fields of lavender or lavender (Lavandula × intermediary) in Brihuega, La Alcarria, (Guadalajara), Spain

I. Subgenus Lavandula Upson & S.Andrews

I. Section Lavandula (3 species)

Lavandula angustifolia Mill.

subsp. angustifolia of Catalonia and Pyrenees.

subsp. pyrenaica Southeast France and adjacent areas of Italy

Lavandula latifolia Medik – native to the center and east of Spain, south of France and north Italy.
Lavandula lanata Boiss. – native to southern Spain.

Hybrid

Lavandula × chaytorae Upson & S. Andrews (L. angustifolia subsp. angustifolia × L. wool)
Lavandula × intermediate Emeric ex Loisel. (L. angustifolia subsp. angustifolia × L. latifolia)

ii. Section Dentatae Suárez-Cerv. " Seoane-Camba " (1 species)

Lavandula dentata L. from eastern Spain, northern Algeria and Morocco and south-west Morocco.

var. dentata (rosea, albiflora), candicans (Persian) [Batt. ]

iii. Section Stoves Ging. (3 species)

Lavandula stoechas L.

subsp. stoechas from mainly coastal regions of eastern Spain, south of France, west of Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, Mediterranean Turkey, Levantine coast and most of the Mediterranean islands.

subsp. luisieri native to the coast and interior of Portugal and adjacent areas of Spain.

Lavandula pedunculata Mill.(Cav.)

subsp. pedunculata – Spain and Portugal.

subsp. cariensis – from western Turkey to southern Bulgaria.

subsp. atlantic – from the mountain Morocco.

subsp. Lusitanica – south of Portugal and southwest of Spain.

subsp. sampaiana – from Portugal and southwest of Spain.

Lavandula viridis L'Her. – native to southwest Spain, south of Portugal, and possibly also Madeira.

Intersectional hybridsDentatae and Lavendula)

Lavandula × heterophylla Viv. (L. dentata × L. latifolia)
Lavandula × allardii
Lavandula × ginginsii Upson & S. Andrews (L. dentata × L. wool)

II. Subgenus Fabricia (Adams.) Upson & S. Andrews

iv. Section Pterostoechas Ging. (16 species)

Multi-fida lantern L. – is native to a wide range that includes Morocco, southern Portugal and Spain, northern Algeria, Tunisia, Tripolitania, Calabria and Sicily, with isolated populations in the Nile Valley.
Lavandula canariensis Mill.of the Canary Islands.

subsp. palmensis – from La Palma.

subsp. hierrensis – The Iron.

subsp. canariensis – from Tenerife.

subsp. Canariae – from Gran Canaria.

subsp. strong. – from Fuerteventura.

subsp. gomerensis – from La Gomera.

subsp. lancerottensis – from Lanzarote.

Lavandula minutelii Bolle – Canary Islands.

subsp. ♪

subsp. tenuipinna

Lavandula bramwellii Upson & S. Andrews – from Gran Canaria.
Lavandula pinnata L. – from the Canary Islands and also Madeira.
Lavandula buchii Webb & Berthel. – Tenerife.
Lavandula rotundifolia Benth. – Cape Verde Islands.
Lavandula maroccana Murb. – Atlas Mountains in Morocco.
Lavandula tenuisecta Coss. ex Ball – Atlas Mountains in Morocco.
Lavandula rejdalii Upson & Jury – Morocco.
Lavandula mairei Humbert – Morocco.
Lavandula coronopifolia Poir. – It has a wide distribution, from Cape Verde through North Africa, Northeast tropical Africa, Arabia to East Iran.
Lavandula saharica Upson & Jury – South Algeria and nearby regions.
Lavandula antineae Maire – Central Sahara region.

subsp. antinae

subsp. Marrana

subsp. Tibestica

Lavandula pubescens Decne. – from Egypt and Eritrea, Sinai, Israel and Palestine, Jordan, west of the Arabian peninsula to Yemen.
Dishwasher A.G. Mill. – southwest of the Arabian peninsula.

Hybrid

Lavandula × christiana Gattef. " Maire (L. pinnata × L. canariensis)

v. Section Subnudae Chaytor (10 species)

Undernut washing machine Benth. – from the mountains of Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
Lavandula macra Baker. – south of the Arabian peninsula and north of Somalia.
Lavandula dhofarensis A.G. Mill. – from Dhofar in southern Oman.

subsp. dhofarensis

subsp. ayunensis

Lavandula samhanensis Upson & S. Andrews – Dhofar, Oman.
Lavandula setifera T. Anderson – from the coastal regions of Yemen and Somalia.
Lavandula qishnensis Upson & S. Andrews – south of Yemen.
Lavandula nimmoi Benth. – from Socotra.
Lavandula galgalloensis A.G. Mill. – North Somalia.
Lavandula aristibracteata A.G. Mill. – North Somalia.
Lavandula somaliensis Chaytor – North Somalia.

vi. Section Chaetostachys Benth. (2 species)

Bipinnata laundula (Roth) Kuntze – from the peninsula of the Decán and northern center of India.
Lavandula gibsonii J. Graham – west of Ghats, India.

vii. Section Hasikenses Upson & S. Andrews (2 species)

Lavandula hasikensis A.G. Mill. – Oman.
Dishwasher sublepidota Rech. f. – far, in southern Iran.

III. Subgenus Sabaudia (Search. " Muschl.) Upson & S. Andrews

viii. SectionSabaudia (Search. " Muschl.) Upson & S. Andrews (2 species)

Lavandula atriplicifolia Benth. – west of the Arabian peninsula Egypt.
Lavandula erythraeae (Chiov.) Cufod. – from Eritrea.

Honors

Lavender is the national flower of Portugal.

Additional bibliography

Upson T, Andrews S. The Genus Lavandula. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 2004 (in English)
United States Department of Agriculture GRIN: Lavandula (in English)
Franck Dubus, La Lavande, fleur de reineHey. Utovie ISBN 978-2-86819-177-9 (in French)
Didier Lanterborn, Mémoires d'un herboristeHey. Équinoxe ISBN 2-84135-423-7 (in French)
François Couplan, Eva Styner, Guide des plantes sauvages comestibles et toxiquesHey. Delachaux et Niestlé, coll. « Les guides du naturaliste », ISBN 2-603-00952-4
www.crieppam.fr in Manosque, France (in French)
Lieutaghi, Pierre (2006). Petite ethnobotanique méditerranéenne (in French). Arles: Actes Sud. pp. 199-205. ISBN 2-7427-5674-4.

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