Real lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), also popularly known as large or real speik, spikenard or spikes, is valued above all for its aromatic scent and pretty flowers. However, the plant can also be used to flavor many dishes (e.g. lamb) or as a fragrant bath additive.
Botanical profile
Lavender belongs to the mint family (Lamiaceae). Its taproot goes deep into the ground. The plant forms a branched semi-shrub 30 to 60 centimeters high, the older branches of which become woody. The young shoots, on the other hand, are grey-green in color and square. Lavender has elongated, narrow, needle-like leaves that are silvery gray in color. This leaf color is an indication of the Mediterranean origin of lavender, because it serves as sun protection - similar to the silver leaves of the olive tree. The fragrant blue or purple spikes of flowers appear on long stems from July to September.
home and distribution
Lavender comes from the southern European Mediterranean countries, where it grows wild on rocky and dry slopes. Benedictine monks once brought the herb over the Alps, today it is native to numerous gardens in Western and Northern Europe as a aromatic and medicinal plant. The French Provence is particularly famous as the “land of lavender”, where a blue and purple carpet of flowers covers the landscape every year when it blooms.
Special Varieties
The real lavender is available in different varieties and colors:
- Hidcote Blue (dark blue flowers, good for hedges)
- Blue Cushion (compact shrub)
- Munstead (Early Flowering)
- Miss Katherine (, late blooming, pink flowers)
- Rosea (also pink flowers)
- Alba (white flowering)
- Mailette (rich and long-flowering, strong aroma)
- Lady (compact shrub with profuse flowering)
ingredients and taste
The plant contains a lot of essential oils. There are also tannins and bitter substances, flavonoids, coumarins and rosmarinic acid. Lavender has a calming, antispasmodic and nerve-strengthening effect. The scented herb has a fresh, spicy scent that is well known everywhere. It tastes a little tart and bitter, similar to rosemary. Young leaf shoots are suitable as a special seasoning for fish, poultry, stew, mutton, for soups and sauces.
Historical Use
Although lavender is at home in the Mediterranean countries, it did not play a special medicinal role in ancient times. Its name is derived from the Latin word for "to wash", "lavare", as the clean Romans flavored their bath water with this herb. Only beyond the Alps did lavender gain fame, where it developed into a highly valued herb in various monastery and cottage gardens. In past centuries, lavender was considered a form of protection against contagious diseases, for example, because its scent kept disease-carrying lice away.
tips and tricks
Since time immemorial, dried bouquets of lavender have been placed in the linen closet. They not only spread their fragrance there, but also drive away the moths.
IJA