Lavender is perhaps best known as an essential oil used in perfumes, cosmetics, balms etc. What is not so well known is that lavender has many medicinal uses also. It has antiseptic as well as anti-inflammatory properties and was actually used during Word War I as a hospital disinfectant. Lavender also helps protect against insects and insect bites, it helps relieve headaches, acne, burns and in Iran, it is used as an anti-inflammatory medicine. It is also considered to be an allergen and should not be eaten or used by pregnant and lactating mothers. However, ancient Romans used to value lavenders highly, paying high prices for it, and introduced it to Englishmen after invading south Britain.

Lavender belongs to the family of ‘Lamiaceae’ and originates from Europe, the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands, North Africa, East Africa, and from India. It belongs to the genus ‘Lavandula’ which has some 30 plants, all of them flowering, with some herbaceous plants, annuals and shrubs. While lavenders are cultivated in farms and gardens across the world they are also found to be growing naturally in the wild.