Guest guest Posted November 9, 2005 Report Share Posted November 9, 2005 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 9, 2005 Report Share Posted November 9, 2005 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 10, 2005 Report Share Posted November 10, 2005 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? Celebrating 10 years online. Supplying pure Essential Oils, Aromatherapy Accessories, Information and more! Visit us at: <http://www.naturesgift.com> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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