Spike lavender
Lavandula latifolia
Family · Lamiaceae · Harmless
The lavender that flowers in high August, when the others have dried, and the only one with a broad leaf. It smells strongly of camphor and is the source of the spike lavender oil of Spanish perfumery.
Scrubland · Uplands · Walls and rocks
Also known asbroadleaved lavender
How to tell it
Leaves clearly broader than other lavenders', grey and soft. Thin long spikes on branched stems, with no ears at the top. Prefers limestone.
What it is confused with
French lavender
Lavandula stoechas
The season separates them effortlessly: French lavender flowers in spring, spike lavender in August. And French lavender has ears on top of the spike, spike lavender has none.
What it is for
Essential oil used industrially in perfumery and cleaning, and a late nectar plant, important because it flowers when almost nothing else offers any.
With documented traditional uses. Not a therapeutic indication and not a dose.
Where it occurs
Each square is an area with recorded observations of this plant. The lighter background is the set of areas where any of the entries has been observed, and serves as a reference. Note what this is not: it is not where the plant lives, it is where people record it, so trails and towns always look fuller than the mountains. Data from GBIF.
Sources
Community
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