Lavender is native throughout the entire Mediterranean and is cultivated in the French and Italian Alpine regions.
German language pharmacocopoeias designate it as a drug of blossoms collected prior to the complete development of the calyx. Lavender is a small evergreen shrub.
Lavender exists in a large Number: of varieties that differ morphologically and in the composition of their essential oils. The oil of the wild growing variety delphinensis is designated as the official oil. The perfume oil industry uses lavender oil distilled from Lavandula officinalis (linalyl acetate 30-50%, linalool and minor quantities of borneol, iso-borneol, 1.8-cineole, and camphor). Spikenard oil comes from Lavandula latifolia VILL. (less linalyl acetate and a high portion of 1.8-cineole, as well as camphor, borneol, and linalool). Lavender oil is extracted from hybrids of both Lavendula plants.(Annual production approximately 1000 tons).
