Lavandula angustifolia

Common Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)

The True lavender or Narrow- Lavender ( Lavandula angustifolia, Lavandula officinalis syn, Lavandula vera) is a plant of the mint family ( Lamiaceae). The plant is mainly used as an ornamental plant or for the extraction of fragrances.

• 5.1 Kitchen
• 5.2 perfume
• 5.3 Medical Importance
• 5.4 ingredients

Features

The True lavender (rarely to 200) achieved centimeters graufilzig hairy, aromatic shrub, the plant height to 100. The branches are ascending, branched out straight and strong, stiff upright and unbranched or they wear short shoots. The leaves are about 40 to 50 millimeters long, arranged opposite, lanceolate, oblong or linear and narrowing at both ends. They are dull, entire and rolled more or less at the edge. In the young state the leaves on top and bottom are gray-tomentose, later they turn green.

The flowers are purple colored, fünfzählig and arranged in 6 to 10 - flowered Scheinquirlen. These combine to form a up to 8 centimeters long, inflorescence aged men. The bracts have a length of up to 8 mm, are mostly broadly rhombic, obovate, awned, membranous and brown or purple, the nerves are clearly visible. The flower stalks are very short, small linealische bracts are present or not. The cup is gray violet, short downy, ovate - Roehrig, up to 7 mm long and 13 - annoying. The calyx teeth are unequal, the upper at the top is wrong enlarged - heart-shaped. The corolla is weakly two-lipped, the tube extends up to 12 millimeters far forward. The upper lip consists of 2, the lower lip of 3 equal, rounded, coalesced petals. The four stamens are bent down and locked, the front two are longer. The ovary is upper constant and four parts. Bloom time is from June to August. The nutlets are shiny brown.

Occurrence

The home of lavender are originally the coastal regions of the Mediterranean. There he comes to dry, warm slopes to Dalmatia and Greece, and in Tuscany in Italy remains widespread. The True lavender is now widespread throughout southern Europe. He is one of those species that are considered hardy and therefore outside the usual winter in Central Europe also well survive if they have a specific location, have not been especially prepared for the winter and not be protected especially against its action. Therefore, the True Lavender grows sporadically up to the tree line to dry, rocky slopes. Benedictine monks took him a north of the Alps. It is naturalized in Jena, Rudolstadt and Bad Blankenburg. In 1800, existed at Laubenheim between Bingen and Bad Kreuznach on the so-called Lavender Mount a bigger stock, lavender mountain but was redeveloped in 1840. The rootstocks were torn ( and firewood ); the area was a vineyard. Also on Mont Vully near Murten in Switzerland. Otherwise he is only planted in gardens as a perennial wild before and it rarely.

Lavender is the characteristic plant of the high -Provence; the large lavender fields are a tourist destination. The local lavender acreage has increased from 2002 - 2012 approximately halved. The causes pests and some cold periods with little snow apply (snow protects the lavender before severe frost ), for example, the cold wave of 2012 and the storm Daisy in January 2010.

History

The jury of Theophrastus - Naturopathic Association chose the genuine lavender for medicinal plant of the year 2008.

Use

Planting to harvest

More often than the True lavender is still cultivated in Provence of lavandin, a natural hybrid of Genuine lavender and valerian, lavender (Lavandula latifolia ). This is very often the basis for inexpensive essences and oils. Their scent is weaker than the genuine products from lavender. The colder the area, the less odor of lavender.

Propagation

The propagation of the plants is carried out by seed, division of larger sticks and root -forming side shoots, cuttings or cuttings.

Oil recovery

Furthermore, it is made ​​from the buds with stems of lavender oil. This is done by drag distillation, steam distillation or by the flowers are carried in oil, for example olive oil. To get rich in content feedstock is harvested in the early morning or just after rain, when the flowers are dried again. " Lavender fine " and " lavender extra" from Lavandula angustifolia be won. The distillation basis for " lavender extra" serves wild mountain lavender, of up to 1,800 m growing in a geographical level and is harvested by wild collection. "Lavender Mont Blanc " or " Barremian " are trade names, which is a standardized content of esters based.

Beekeeping

In the apiary is the lavender because of the high sugar content of its nectar ( 21-48 %) and its high sugar value ( up to 0.26 mg sugar / day per flower) an estimated addition to costume.

Pharmacy

The European Pharmacopoeia prescribes a minimum content of 13 ml / kg of essential oil of the flowers of the drug. It is internally used as a sedative in states of restlessness and difficulty falling asleep.

Use

Kitchen

Young leaves and soft shoots are suitable for pleasant refine dishes like stew, fish, poultry, lamb and in sauces and soups, in smaller quantities also of salads. Especially in the French, Italian and Spanish cuisine Lavender is often used. In the avant-garde cuisine, it is also used in desserts such as white chocolate mousse or apricot sorbet. The flavor is similar to that of the rosemary and bitter to spicy. Lavender is part of the spice mixture herbes de Provence. The dried and air-tight and light- protected packaged spice holds 6 to 9 months.

Perfume

Lavender is a frequently estimated in medicine and perfumery plant genus. This is especially true for the genuine lavender (Lavandula angustifolia).

Medical importance

Serve as a drug:

• The collected and dried shortly before complete unfolding lavender flowers ( flos Lavandulae )
• The obtained by steam distillation from the fresh flowers or inflorescences essential oil ( Lavandulae aetheroleum ).

Lavender flowers have slightly reassuring, blähungswidrige and cholagogue properties. One uses this to mitigate the following complaints: Inner restlessness, nervous exhaustion, difficulty falling asleep, migraine, also for nervous gastrointestinal and biliary complaints. The calming effect is also used in aromatherapy. There probably affects the evaporated linalyl acetate.

Liniments with lavender oil have predominantly a skin irritant and therefore serve to combat rheumatic complaints. As a bath additive it is used for functional circulatory disorders. Because of its antibacterial properties of lavender oil is also included in gargles.

For insect- repellent effects solutions are best used or are alcoholic lavender sachets placed between the laundry.

Ingredients

It is composed of linalyl acetate, linalool, camphor and cineole. Its ingredients are 40 - 50 % acetate, 25 - 35 % Monoterpenole, monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, ketones and oxides.