Compendium

Lavender, also known as true, English or common lavender, is a strongly scented evergreen shrub of the family Lamiaceae, native to the Mediterranean basin despite its English name, and grows one to two metres tall. Its narrow leaves, which give the species its name, are grey-green or silvery, and its small purple flowers sit in whorls on spikes at the top of slender, leafless stems. It is widely grown for its colourful flowers and fragrance, tolerates drought, dislikes soil that stays damp, and prefers neutral to alkaline ground. Its flowers and leaves are used in herbal medicine, the flowers flavour food, notably the North American form of herbes de Provence, and its essential oil goes into perfumes, cosmetics, massage and aromatherapy. Lavender has scented laundry since Greek and Roman times, and in medieval Europe it was linked with love and thought an aphrodisiac. Folk belief held that carrying a sprig let a person see ghosts; in Tuscany it guarded children against the evil eye, and in Wales a sprig was worn for luck and protection. In magical practice it goes into love sachets, is burned to bring sleep, is strewn about the house to keep it peaceful, is added to purification baths, and is slipped under the pillow for a wish divination.