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
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 |