Lavender

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Lavandula officinalis Chaix

Lavandula hybrida Rev.

Fam. Lamiaceae (Labiatae)

Br. Lavande and Lavandin
Eng. Lavender and Lavendin
Ted. Lavendel
Sp. Espliego

Description

Genus of suffruttic plants which includes 28 species of temperate zones, of which the main ones are: L.angustifolia, L.vera., L. officinalis, L. stoechas, L. spica, L. latifolia and interspecific hybrids, which are called sinks.

Lavender is about 50 cm high, very branched with erect quadrangular flower stems, small and linear leaves, initially covered with hair, later glabrous.

The blue-violet flowers are small and gathered in terminal inflorescences (spicastri) that bloom in June-July, giving off a characteristic and intense perfume.

The fruit is an achene in lavender, while it is absent in the sink since the plant is a sterile hybrid. Hybrids can be recognized from true lavender by the presence of secondary inflorescences inserted in the armpit of the main stem and by the wider axillary bract of the flowers.

Areal

There are various species of spontaneous lavender that have different distribution areas even if they all refer to the Mediterranean region. The species present at altitudes above 500-600 m s.l.m. And the L.officinalis typical of dry environments and calcareous soils. It is from 50 to 80 cm high and lives spontaneously or naturalized in various mountainous or submontane areas. The species present at altitudes below 500m is L. spica, 40-50 cm high, very sensitive to cold and with a strong camphor smell, L.stoechas, also sensitive to the cold, it adapts well to sandy soils and drought environments.
Generally plants of the genus Lavandula they prefer dry, calcareous and deep soils; they tolerate acid soils poorly while they adapt well to alkaline ones.

They are often used against the erosion of unstable sloping soils.
Hybrids are the object of greater cultivation for the yield of essence and for being plants with greater vegetative development and inflorescence stems of considerable length. Currently the sink is mainly cultivated (L.hybrida Rev.), which is a natural and sterile hybrid of L. officinalis x L. spica.
France, Spain, the former Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Hungary and England are the main cultivation countries. The crop can last 6 or 10 years for lavender and sink respectively. The plant is preferably made from cuttings for both because it is difficult to find genetically homogeneous seeds (for fertile lavender) and because the seed plants are less productive.

The cuttings, usually herbaceous, 12-15 cm long, are taken in autumn or spring from a young 2-year-old plant and are placed in the nursery for rooting, facilitated by the use of hormonal substances. After 1 year, the transplant in rows spaced 1.5-2 m apart (about one plant / m2). Nitrogen-phosphorus and potassium fertilizers (50-60 kg / ha) at the plant and 60-70 kg / ha subsequently are to be carried out in spring

There are various fungi, responsible for root and collar rot, a virus, a nematode, two dipters, which cause necrosis of the stems, beetles and lepidoptera. There Septoria, a fungus that attacks young shoots, can cause serious damage, so it is necessary to control it with 3 applications a year of Bordeaux mixture or other products.
It is good to remember that lavender is a honey plant, so any treatments must be compatible with the needs of bees.
Weeds can be fought with weeding, light however, to avoid damaging the roots which are quite superficial

Harvest and yields

Harvesting begins on 2-year plants with increasing yields over the next 5-6 years; it works with mowing-tying machines that cut off the inflorescences and some herbaceous stem, leaving the woody portions of the plant intact
The product for distillation must not contain leaves because they give the essential oil an unwelcome sour aroma.

The optimal period coincides with the beginning of the withering.

The maximum yield in inflorescences is 5-7 t / ha for lavender, 12-15 for the sink.

The quantity and quality of lavender essence is influenced by various environmental and cultivation factors:

1) 1'altitude it causes a decrease in quantity, but an improvement in quality: the content of linalyl acetate increases and camphor decreases;

2) Fertilization with K increases the presence of camphor, while P and N decrease it. If we exceed with N and P we reduce the essence content;

3) hot winds or rain during flowering they reduce the yield

4) important are the cultivar used.

Drug

It is given by the inflorescences, from which a very precious essence is extracted by steam distillation, often performed in the place where it is collected. The flowers for herbal medicine are collected at the beginning of flowering, while for the cosmetic and perfumery industries in the period of maximum flowering; they are then dried. and distilled. They contain an essential oil with linalyl acetate (30-55%), linalool, cineole and camphor

Uses

In phytotherapy, lavender is used for its antiseptic, vasodilatory, antineuralgic properties in muscular and arthritic pain, sedative in mild states of insomnia or states of agitation.
In cosmetics: it is essentially used to make perfumes.
Other uses: it is a melliferous plant from which precious honeys are obtained, considered suitable for treating bronchopulmonary diseases, such as rheumatic diseases and asthma.

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