Lavender (Lavendula)
Lavender (Lavandula) is an aromatic perennial evergreen herb with approximately 30 species and is from the mint family Lamiaceae. It likely that Lavender originated from the Mediterranean region spanning to northeast Africa and western Arabia.
Lavender, long favoured for its fragrance as well as its natural healing properties, is cultivated for its essential oil which is used for a range of medicinal and cosmetic uses including as a culinary herb and for ornamental flowers. It is valued for its antimicrobial properties and ability to calm anxiety, relieve pain and heal wounds.
The theraputic properites of Lavender have been known for more than 2,500 years. The ancient Greeks used lavender herb medicinally as well as for wines and vinegars. The first recorded use of lavender for medicinal use were by Dioscorides, an ancient Greek physician, who believed that eating lavender would relieve indigestion, sore throats, and headaches.
Lavender was also used in ancient Egypt for mummification and when Tutankhamun’s tomb was opened, traces of lavender were rumoured to be found. The Romans used lavender to dress battle wounds, to help repel insects, to cook and to wash as well as to scent their public bathhouses. The name lavender is actually derived from the Latin verb “lavare” which means to wash.
Lavender has also long been considered to be a herb of love, and Cleopatra supposedly used it to seduce both Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. In Tudor times, a lavender brew was drunk by maidens on St. Luke's Day to discover the identity of their true loves.
The Romans and early travellers transported lavender to other parts of the world, and by the sixteenth-century lavender was well established in English gardens. Lavender is one of the oldest perfumes and Queen Elizabeth I was said to be fond of lavender jam while Louis XIV, King of France apparently loved bathing in lavender-scented water.
Before the development of science based medicine, lavender was believed to be able to ward off germs and diseases such as the plague and cholera. During the Great Plague in London people often tied small bunches of lavender to their wrists to prevent deadly diseases and many doctors wore masks shaped like bird-beaks filled with dried herbs, including lavender, to ward off deadly disease. In the Middle Ages lavender was commonly strewn over the floors of houses and sickrooms, providing not only a disinfectant but also a deodorant.
Lavender has been variously used as a natural remedy to treat a range of ills such as headaches, hysteria, nervous palpitations, hoarseness, palsy, jaundice, toothaches, sore joints, apoplexy, colic, coughs, digestive problems, worms, throat infections, constipation, chest conditions and assorted brain maladies, as well as in assisting childbirth. It has been used as an antidepressant, sedative, antispasmodic, expectorant as well as a healing agent, particularly for minimising scar tissue.
Today, lavender is primarily known for its soothing, relaxing qualities and is used for its calming ability and to support sleep as well as for the relief of headaches, and sore joints. Lavender essential oil is incorporated into a number of cosmetics including bath and beauty products such as lotions, hand creams, and bath salts. Culinary lavender (usually English lavender), is used as a spice or condiment for cooking. Lavender’s established insecticidal, antimicrobial and antiseptic properties means it has also been long been used to protect clothes and linens from moths.
Lavandula angustifolia (also known as “English Lavender”) is one of the most commonly planted “lavenders”. While its origins are likely French, it is commonly called English lavender possibly because of its ability to grow well in the English climate or possibly because it was used by the British royal family as a perfume.
Lavandula angustifolia grows wild in its natural habitat in the Pyrenees in France and has a degree of natural variation due to hybridization. A medium sized plant (50-60cm), it has deep violet flowers that appear in late Spring to early summer and narrow leaves (“angustifolia” is Latin for narrow leaf). English Lavender is used for oil production, cut flowers as well as for fragrance and culinary purposes. The Pacific Blue cultivar of Lavandula angustifolia was imported to New Zeland from France in the early 1990’s (and was named by Peter Smale) and is a commonly grown in the country, including at Black Teal Bay.
Lavandula x Intermedia, better known as Lavandin (often known as French lavender) are hybrid lavender varieties and are the most commonly cultivated lavender plants for oil extraction. The Grosso variety is a naturally occurring hybrid between Lavandula angustifolia and Lavandula latifolia and was first discovered in a deserted lavender field in Vaucluse District of France in 1972 by longtime lavender grower Pierre Grosso (1905-1989). He took cuttings of the plant and he found that the resulting crops were more vigorous (and disease resistant) with higher yields than all other field varieties. Today more than 75% of the lavender fields in France are now lavandin. The most common lavandin is the “Grosso” variety (named after Pierre Grosso) which is very popular globally including New Zealand and it is our mainstay lavender plant at Black Teal Bay.
We initially planted our first patch of lavender at Black Teal Bay in 2018 and every year since we have added new patches of Lavendula x Intermedia (Grosso and more recently added Super variety plants) and we have also developed several terraced fields of Lavandula angustifolia (English lavender). We distil all of our lavender on-site to produce our organic certified lavender essential oils and hydrosols. Our lavender essential oils are also used as key ingredients in a number of our Black Teal Bay oils, balms, bath salts and soap range of products.
“The scent of lavender is like a breath of fresh air for the soul.”
– Anonymous