Notice

Colin Mills, compiler of the Hortus Camdenensis, died in late November 2012 after a short illness. As he always considered the Hortus his legacy, it is his family's intention to keep the site running in perpetuity. It will not, however, be updated in the near future.

Lavandula stoechas L.

Fully hardy, compact, bushy shrub with linear, grey-green leaves and dense spikes of fragrant, dark purple flowers, to 3cm long, topped with conspicuous purple bracts on short stalks, in spring and summer.  To 60cm  [RHSE, Hortus, Hilliers’].

Horticultural & Botanical History

Introduced to Britain in 1658.  [JD]. ‘Stechas, or French Lavender.  Stoechas arabica or purpurea.  This shrub grows about three foot high, the leaves are a whitish green and the flowers a deep purple.  It grows naturally in Spain and the southern parts of France, and is planted here in gardens, flowering in April and May.  The flowers are accounted cordial & cephalic, strengthening the Genus Nervosum and are useful in apoplexies, palsies & convulsions.  They are also opening & attenuating, promoting the catamenia and resisting poisons.’  [Blackwell pl.241/1737].

History at Camden Park

Listed only in the 1857 catalogue [T.633/1857].  Naturalised in parts of the Camden area.  [Beadle].

Notes

Published Mar 19, 2009 - 04:56 PM | Last updated Mar 22, 2010 - 02:41 PM

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Shown are the grey-green leaves and dense spikes of dark purple flowers topped with larger bracts. Blackwell pl.241, 1737.

Lavandula stoechas L. | Blackwell pl.241/1737 | BHL

Family Lamiaceae
Category
Region of origin

Mediterranean
Synonyms
Common Name

French lavender
Name in the Camden Park Record

Lavandula stoechas 
Confidence level high