| Latin Name : | Lavandula latifolia, Lavandula spica |
| English Name : | Spike Lavender |
| French Name : | Lavande aspic, lavande sauvage |
| Family : | Lamiaceae |
| Origin : | Spain |
History and Origin
Already used by Dioscoride in the 1st Century of our Age, lavender has long been renowned as a medicinal plant. The term “Lavender”, from Latin “lavare”, appears in the Middle-Age. For a long period, people thought that bad smells were associated with disease, so essential oils started to be used to fight “diseases”, as a therapeutic product. In that time, Lavender was found in the gardens of Monasteries where, with other aromatic plants, it was used for medicinal purposes. Lavender picking is mentioned around the topic of herbalism in texts dating back to the XIVth Century. In the XIIIth Century, the development of the faculties of Marseille and Montpellier played a critical role on the path to knowing the properties of local plants. Lavender essential oil was used for its therapeutic properties both internally and externally during the plague epidemic, in Provence.