Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)

Lavandula angustifolia, commonly called lavender, true lavender, English lavender or garden lavender despite not being native to England, and formerly classified as Lavandula officinalis, is a strongly aromatic flowering shrub of the mint family Lamiaceae native to the Mediterranean basin. Its scientific name comes from the Latin for narrow leaf, describing its evergreen foliage, which measures two to six centimeters long and only four to six millimeters wide; the shrub itself reaches one to two meters, with characteristic purple flowers carried on slender, leafless stems ten to thirty centimeters tall topped by flower spikes two to eight centimeters long. It is among the most commercially significant lavender species, grown for ornamental gardens, herbal medicine, and the essential oil industry that supplies perfumes, cosmetics and aromatherapy products, and its flowers are also used as a culinary herb, notably in the herbes de Provence blend. Its drought tolerance and low flammability additionally make it a favored landscape plant in Mediterranean climates.