LAVENDER, a genus (Lavandula) of perennial herbs, sub-shrubs and shrubs of the order Labiate', consisting of 20 species, native to the Mediterranean region and south western Asia. The best known are true laven der (L. vera) and spike lavender (L. spica), which like other members of the genus have narrow leaves crowded near the ground, and blue or violet two-lipped flowers in whorls which form more or less interrupted spikes. All the lavenders contain similar volatile oils (oil of lavender, oil of spike, etc.), for which the plants are cultivated and which are ob tained from the flowers by distillation with water. The principal use of these oils is in perfumery, but they have been used in medi cine as stimulants, tonics and stomachics. The dried flowers are placed with clothing laid away in bureaus and chests, partly because their aroma repels moths, but chiefly for the sake of the pleasant odor imparted to the garments. i
The perfume called lavender water is a solu tion of oil of lavender in spirit, along with attar of roses, bergamot, musk, cloves, rose mary and other ingredients, which after stand ing for some time is strained and mixed with a certain proportion of distilled water. Laven der plants do not thrive as well in America as in English gardens, but succeed best in light, dry, friable soil, well exposed to the sun. They are best propagated by means of cuttings of one year's growth; seeds are unreliable, since they are slow to germinate and usually produce plants of inferior quality. Arabian lavender (L. stoechar) yields an oil used in varnish. In California and a few other places in the United States lavender is grown but not on a com mercial scale.