Kitten Goes Meow · CC0
About
The genus *Lavandula sp* includes diverse perennial plants, ranging from herbaceous annuals to small shrubs, notable for their fragrant essential oils and varied flower structures. They are highly valued globally for ornamental gardening, culinary use, and the extraction of essential oils.
Field notes
Morphology
Leaves are simple, sometimes pinnately toothed, and often covered in fine hairs containing essential oils. Flowers are arranged in whorls on spikes that rise above the foliage, with the spikes sometimes being branched. The flowers may be blue, violet, or lilac, and the sepal calyx and corolla are tubular.
Distribution & habitat
Native to the Old World, primarily found across the drier, warmer regions of the Mediterranean, including the Iberian Peninsula, the Balkans, the Levant, coastal North Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and the Indian subcontinent.
Cultivation notes
Lavenders thrive in full sun in dry, well-drained, sandy or gravelly soils with a pH between 6 and 8. They require little to no fertilizer and good air circulation, as high humidity can cause root rot. Gravelly materials are recommended over organic mulches to prevent moisture trapping.
History & etymology
The English word lavender is thought to derive from Old French lavandre, ultimately from Latin lavare (to wash), referring to the use of blue infusions for bathing. Carl Linnaeus combined previously separate groups into the genus *Lavandula* in Species Plantarum (1753).
Habitat
- Altitude
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- Altitude Class
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Cultivation
- Difficulty
- intermediate
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