Learn About English Lavender

This post is all about English Lavender, also known as Lavandula angustifolia. First there are some basic facts about English lavender, then some information about scientifically supported benefits of English lavender. There is also even more to learn on my post about lavender and chamomile tea.

Basic Facts about English Lavender

There are forty seven species of lavender, one of which is an evergreen perennial called English lavender—and there are over forty cultivars of this species. It is known and loved for its vibrant purple flowers and beautiful calming fragrance. It grows in stalks of green to gray color, and an English lavender plant can live up to fifteen years.
Even though English lavender is originally from the Mediterranean, it is cold hardy. It can withstand temperatures down to -10 Fahrenheit or -23 Celsius.¹
English lavender, a.k.a. lavandula angustufolia, blooms in the summer, appreciates full sun, and attracts butterflies if you plant it in your garden.²

It grows in even bushes of one to three feet. Its name comes from the Latin verb “lavare” meaning “to wash,” and “angustifolia” meaning “narrow-leaved.” The name refers to the leaf shape, and its common ancient usage in soaps and personal hygiene.³
The main chemical components of English lavender are linalyl acetate, linalool, lavandulol, 1,8-cineole, lavandulyl acetate, and camphor.⁴ So if you’re wondering what lavender essential oil actually is, that’s what it is. The amounts of these compounds vary depending on environmental factors.

Lavender was the USA’s Herb Growing and Marketing Network’s very own Herb of the Year in 1999. It’s kind of famous.
Lavender is a member of the Labiatae, or Lamiacae family.
Lavandula angustifolia used to be called L. Vera or L. officinalis.
Traditionally, different species of lavender have different uses: L. stoechas for headaches, L. latifolia to induce miscarriage, and L. angustifolia to induce bowel movements.⁵ There is more on this at the bottom of the article.*
Lavender is known to have a relaxing effect on the nervous system.⁶
Linalool and linalyl acetate can be detected in the blood at peak levels after twenty minutes of application. Although it is renowned as aromatherapeutic, researchers believe the relaxing effect of lavender can be achieved through topical application, not just inhalation.⁷

Benefits of English Lavender

Lavender improves sleep

Studies done on people suffering from insomnia, ranging from students to middle aged women, have found that the odor of lavender helps improve sleep quality. This sleep improvement is greater in young people, women, and those with milder forms of insomnia.⁸

Lavender decreases anxiety

A study on women who had given birth up to a year and a half prior found that aromatherapy with English lavender essential oil and rose otto in a two percent dilution significantly reduced postpartum anxiety.⁹

A study that induced anxiety in participants by showing them distressing film clips found that the fragrance of lavender helped people feel better. The study used clips from suspense films such as Silence of the Lambs and Open Water. Violent or gory scenes were not shown, because they could elicit feelings of disgust, which would be a confounding factor in experiment. Lavender fragrance was found to be effective at reducing anxiety by several measures, including self report, galvanic skin response, and heartrate.¹⁰

Lavender decreases pain

Multiple studies have reported that lavender aromatherapy can be an effective complementary treatment in pain management. Conditions tested include ulcers, post-operative cesarean section, pain in the neck and/or back, dysmenorrhea, and even migraines (if used at the beginning of an attack).¹¹

Other Interesting Finds

*In doing research for this post, I learned about how lavender has been used to induce menstruation and might end a pregnancy. A little digging on lavender’s ability to induce a flow led to some inconsistent findings. A study had this to say about Lavandula stoechas (Spanish lavender): “Lavender oil had estrogenic and anti-androgenic activities[.] Due to its purported properties as an emmenagogue, excessive internal use should be avoided during pregnancy; however, there is no definitive evidence in this area[.]”¹²

I followed one of their references (reference 89) and found that the original paper they referenced was not talking about Lavendula stoechas (Spanish lavender). They were instead talking about Lavandula officinalis, a.k.a. Lavandula angustifolia, a.k.a. English lavender, the topic of this post. I think it is worth reading the table they have of herbs that may be detrimental to a pregnancy: https://sci-hub.se/10.1111/j.1471-0528.2002.t01-1-01009.x. If the sci-hub link is broken, you can search “scihub,” click on one of the top links, and input the part inside the brackets: [10.1111/j.1471-0528.2002.t01-1-01009.x]. Then it will show you the full study.¹³

Because I could not find a consistent line of information on this topic, I would recommend against consuming lavender if you are pregnant, especially in great amounts.

That is certainly not all there is to know about this amazing plant, but it’s definitely enough for one post! There is more information on the benefits of lavender in my post on lavender and chamomile tea. There are also some very pleasant recipes for lavender coffee with a french press and pour over.

If there’s anything you’d like me to do a deep-dive on, or a topic you would like to see on this blog, send me an email through my contact form 🙂 Also, if you subscribe to my post updates and you reply to any of the emails you get, I will do my best to respond. Thanks for reading!

Footnotes/Sources

The superscripts are listed at the end of the information taken from the source.