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Lavan'dula ve'ra, Decand. E.— Common or Garden Lav'ender.
Lavandula angustifolia , Ehrenberg. —Lavandula Spica, L, I>.
Sex, Syst . Didynamia, Gymnospermia.
(Flores, L. D.—The flowering heads; and volatile oil of ditto, E .)
H^Tdry.'—N o plant is mentioned, under the name of Lavender, byhoi l)0cra tes, Theophrastus, Dioscorides, or Pliny . It is not improbable,0 n e e ' er > that lavender may be alluded to, under some other name, by° r I110re of these authors; but it is impossible now to identify it withCe rtainty. Sprengel {Hist. Rei Herb. t. i. p. 96) declares, on thec a ,;^ty of Hesychius , that the tyvov of Theophrastus {Hist. Plant, lib. vi.jj ls Lavandula Spica .
fif te ° t any. Gen. Char .— Calyx tubular, nearly equal, thirteen or rarelyOf ^'ribbed, shortly five-toothed, with the four lower teeth nearly equal,l^ter ? ^ VV ° l° wer narrower; the upper either but little broader than thet\v 0 1 ones, or expanded into a dilated appendage. Upper lip of corolladjj,°o e d; lower three-lobed ; all the divisions nearly equal. Stamensf( J ,a m°us, decimate. Filaments smooth, distinct, not toothed. Anthers£^ rtn > one-celled (Condensed from Bentham; Lindley).
' 0 Uti y — Leaves oblong-linear or lanceolate, quite entire, when
S *X t ^° ar ^ an( l revolute at the edges. Spikes interrupted. Whorls oftl °Us * en ^ owers - Floral leaves rliomboid-ovate, acuminate, membra-f er tile, the uppermost shorter than the calyx. Bracts scarcelybentham).— Shrub, one to two feet high. Flowers purplish-gray.
ica, Decand. (L. latifolia, Villars) or French Lavender, formerly consi-fy- Variety only of the preceding species, is not used in medicine. It is distin-ara,| cl, ^ ds lower habit, whiter colour, the leaves more congested at the base of thefrtw es > die spike denser and shorter, the floral leaves lanceolate or linear, and theCe °f bracts (Bentham). It yields by distillation oil of spike {oleum, spicce) some-K^fordgnoiloflavendar, or, in order to distinguish it from the oil of Lavandula
tWn * _ ; _. -i.. /_ 7 .. ._\ 7,,i • „:i ■ j* - c _ .e-
? e,, nib*’ l l le * rue °f spike (oleum spicce verum). This oil is distinguished from the
R is u _' i 01 1 of Lavandula vera by its darker green colour, and its less grateful odour.e( * by painters on porcelain, and by artists in the preparation of varnishes.
—South of Europe . Extensively cultivated at Mitcham, in> from which place the London market is principally supplied.
{ °perties.- - ' ' - - - -
0 ( 1 ,
J
°u r .
Lavender flowers have a bluish-gray colour, a pleasantUtie ' an( ^ a pungent bitter taste. The flowering stems are collected into],| July, dried in the shade, and made up into bundles for sale. A. usion of the flowers is deepened in colour {tannate of iron) by^chloride of iron.
°H, r ' . Pos ition. —The principal constituents of the flowers are volatileSln ? tannic acid, a bitter principle, and woody fibre.
Oita
tk ° Ur a 1 eBrter Dm °J Lavender;
lii.’u, * 10 t taste, and a very fragrant odour.°il being the purest. It boils at 3(\J>»fCl2 mon rZ _
Its sp. gr. varies from 0 877 to 0'905;365° F.; and is composed, according to Mr.
l l0 W e J^ 0 2 H io O. One pound of oil is obtained from fifty to seventy pounds of the** c Oii s ; j "ben the stalks and leaves are distilled with the flowers, the odour of the oiler ably deteriorated (Braude’s Diet, of Mat. Med. p. 337-8).
Urtt^^uooGiCAL Effects. —The flowers are carminative, mildly stimu-. somewhat tonic. Kraus {Heilmittell. p. 473) says, that wheneternally, they cause tormina ventris.