Lavender Varieties - What's The Diff??

[Guest guest]

I just joined this group recently and have been lurking and learning

here in the background. Want to say " hi " to everyone (hi, everyone)

and say how much I enjoy reading the posts. So much really good

information to be found here. I'm a new soaper but with a long time

interest in herbs and natural remedies and am at least somewhat

familiar with almost evey topic I find here.

 

My question is about lavender. I always thought lavender was lavender

but have recently learned otherwise and I think right here is a good

place to post my questions. There are so many different varieties of

lavender, all reflected in the different kinds of essential oils on

the market--officinalis, spica, augustifolia, French, Bulgarian, 40/42

etc. etc. Is there really any difference between them? Is any one more

potent in fragrance than another? Does the fragrance vary from one

variety to another? In aromatherapy is there considered to be

variations in the effect of one lavender to another? Is one lavender

soothing while another may be invigorating? Why are some more

expensive than others? I know I'm a pest with all these questions and

I am definitely much more ingorant than I thought I was before I began

reading on this forum. I don't really know where to start in trying to

figure out lavenders. Can you help me sort this thing out, please?

 

Mitsy

[Guest guest]

Mitsy,

 

I have had the same question. I've decided that there are differences based

on where they were grown the different varieties come from the same

species.. IE Humans are all one species, but due to the genetics they differ

in size and shape and due to the places they have grown up they will have

different growth patterns...One may be really tall and have blonde hair, and

one will be really short and have black hair... But they are all still

humans.

 

Jennifer

 

On Behalf Of seagrape1954

Tuesday, November 08, 2005 10:13 PM

 

Lavender Varieties - What's The Diff??

 

I just joined this group recently and have been lurking and learning here in

the background. Want to say " hi " to everyone (hi, everyone) and say how

much I enjoy reading the posts. So much really good information to be found

here. I'm a new soaper but with a long time interest in herbs and natural

remedies and am at least somewhat familiar with almost evey topic I find

here.

 

My question is about lavender. I always thought lavender was lavender but

have recently learned otherwise and I think right here is a good place to

post my questions. There are so many different varieties of lavender, all

reflected in the different kinds of essential oils on the

market--officinalis, spica, augustifolia, French, Bulgarian, 40/42 etc. etc.

Is there really any difference between them? Is any one more potent in

fragrance than another? Does the fragrance vary from one variety to another?

In aromatherapy is there considered to be variations in the effect of one

lavender to another? Is one lavender soothing while another may be

invigorating? Why are some more expensive than others? I know I'm a pest

with all these questions and I am definitely much more ingorant than I

thought I was before I began reading on this forum. I don't really know

where to start in trying to figure out lavenders. Can you help me sort this

thing out, please?

 

Mitsy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

At 05:18 PM 11/9/2005, you wrote:

 

>My question is about lavender. I always thought lavender was lavender

>but have recently learned otherwise and I think right here is a good

>place to post my questions. There are so many different varieties of

>lavender, all reflected in the different kinds of essential oils on

>the market--officinalis, spica, augustifolia, French, Bulgarian, 40/42

>etc. etc. Is there really any difference between them?

 

YES

 

okay... officianalis = angustifolia so those two are identical.

 

BUT.. among the officianalis you can have a full range...

 

you can have clones... ie, taken from cuttings, not seed grown. These may

be named varieties, as in Mailette, which is a wonderfully aromatic cloned

variety of angustifolia/officianalis.

 

you can have what is called " lavender fine " which is angustifolia grown

from seed, not from cuttings. You can tell the difference in the field...

the clones will be identical, while each plant of lavender fine will be a

wee bit different from it's neighbor...natural variations.

 

then there's High Altitude which many folks believe is the 'creme de la

creme'... much more expensive because it's a lot more rare.

 

the country of origin makes a huge difference... there's a marked

difference, aromatically, between our organic bulgarian and our organic

french Mailette... AND our French Hi Alt, AND our Himalayan (which,

obviously, is VERY hi alt indeed!)

 

those are all true lavendula angustifolia oils.

 

then you have lavender 40/42 which is not a pure, natural oil, but an oil

whose chemical composition has been " adjusted " by a chemist to meet a

preexisting requirement for the IDENTICAL oil year after year... Mother

nature doesn't grow 'em that way.

 

Then there's Lavender spica or lavender latifolia... Spike

Lavender.. much higher in cineole and camphor... really good for

respiratory problems, a powerful germ killer. NOT normally nearly as

'pretty' as lavender officianalis... and a stimulant, not a sedative.

 

THEN you have Lavandin

 

a hybrid of lavendula officianalis and lavender latifolia. Like all

hybrids, it won't set seed and is cultivated by cloning. Lavandin plants

produce far more essential oil than do either of their 'parent' species, so

are a lot more popular with growers.

 

there are several varieties of Lavandula hybrid x xxxxxx

 

Grosso, (named for the botanist who first developed it) contains

terpineol-4 and linalyl acetate which make it a good antiseptic and

stimulating oil. Useful in treating skin conditions such as acne and

sluggish skin. Really good for skin infections. Today in France, Grosso

accounts for about 3/4ths of the lavandin produced.

 

Lavandin Super Lavandula hybrid var. super is aromatically closest to

Lavendula angustifolia... It is at least as relaxing as true lavender,

high in esters, antispasmodic...

 

Lavandin abrialis was the first wellknown cloned lavandin, but a disease

caused it to be mostly replaced by grosso and super. It is closer to

Lavandin Super in its chemical constituents and applications

 

(there are some other lavandins, but I am going blank and too lazy to look

them up!)

 

Then there's Lavender Stoechas (spanish lavender) Lavendula

stoechas Said to be the original lavender of the ancient romans. Very

anti-infectious, high in ketones, not at all the 'gentle' lavender you are

probably used to.

 

A few years ago I was asked to talk at a gathering... and the folks there

rather thought that " lavender is Lavender "

 

I did samples of perhaps 10 or 12 different lavender species oils. The 8

we offered at the time, a 40/42 from somewhere... and a few samples I'd

recieved that I flat hated. the interesting thing about the experiment was

that EVERYONE in the room loved at least one of the oils... and was

totally turned off by others. Confused, yet?

 

 

 

 

 

 

> Is any one more

>potent in fragrance than another? Does the fragrance vary from one

>variety to another? In aromatherapy is there considered to be

>variations in the effect of one lavender to another? Is one lavender

>soothing while another may be invigorating? Why are some more

>expensive than others? I know I'm a pest with all these questions and

>I am definitely much more ingorant than I thought I was before I began

>reading on this forum. I don't really know where to start in trying to

>figure out lavenders. Can you help me sort this thing out, please?

 

 

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