FRENCH LAVENDER
(Lavendula stoechas)
Appearance
A highly aromatic square-stemmed shrub with soft, narrow,
grey-green leaves, covered area with dense white velvety hairs, and
growing 30 to 60 cm high.Conspicuous purple bracts (leaf-line structures)
stand above the compact head of dark purple flowers, which appear from March
to May.
Habitat
Grows on dry, rocky hillsides, most commonly on pillow lava. From
500 to 1500 feet altitude. Locally abundant.
Uses and Properties
This valuable honey-yielding plant grows to provide
excellent cover on unstable slopes. The plant is rich in balsamic and
aromatic substances (olio lavandulae), though not as much so as the
cultivated lavender (Lavandula angustifolia). The oils of the plant are
used in perfumery and as a tonic and antiseptic (especially for
external wounds). It is a well-known medicinal plant of ancient times and
is still widely employed in Islamic medicine. Sprigs used to perfume linen
and keep away moths, or to throw in bath water as a relaxant and skin tonic.
In Cyprus the sprigs are used to decorate the bier constructed on Good
Friday in memory of Christ's burial.
