A strongly aromatic evergreen shrub 1–2 m tall. Evergreen narrow grey-green leaves 2–6 cm long and 4–6 mm wide. Flowers typically purple (lavender-coloured, whence the colour name) on spikes 2–8 cm long at the top of slender leafless stems 10–30 cm. Formerly L. officinalis; called true lavender and English lavender though not native to England. The lavender of highest oil quality, but demanding in climate and altitude, so planted less widely than the hybrid lavandin.
Habitat
Dry limestone slopes of Mediterranean mountains at 500–1,500 m; grown for oil and ornament on cool dry uplands and in borders.
Distribution
Native to the western Mediterranean (France, the mountains of northern Spain, Italy); Provence and Yili in Xinjiang are famous growing regions, Qingshui in Gansu grows it too, and it is common in borders in Beijing and Shanghai; the fields of Furano in Hokkaido are world-famous (this species and hybrids, rabendā); too hot for Singapore outside flower shows.
Season and behaviour
June and July, mid-June to early July in Yili, early to mid-July in Furano; a spike lasts two or three weeks.
Photography tips
These are the FilmAnalysis editors' notes, not content from the sources.
Purple shifts blue on digital sensors, so shoot under cloud or around sunset and set white balance by hand. Rows compress into purple stripes with a long lens, or go low so spikes stand against the sky; a single spike in macro for the small purple flowers on grey-green calyces. Bees and butterflies everywhere, 1/1600 s. Fields before distant hills at Furano or Yili are the classic. Scent is the subject, so photograph someone in the field.
Photographic styles
Purple stripes across a field; spikes against the sky.
Similar species
Lavandin, Lavandula × intermedia (taller, longer spikes, most large plantings); French lavender, Lavandula stoechas (rabbit-ear bracts atop the spike); sages (broader leaves).
Related badge
The album badge "lavender" unlocks when the vision model explicitly names a lavender in your photo and you rate the analysis. The badge stops at "lavender": it does not tell species apart, and this page existing unlocks nothing.
The illustration is original FilmAnalysis artwork. No photographs yet: only photos cleared for commercial use with credit will be added.
Why it is listed: this species comes from the Flower checklist (GBIF backbone and Wikidata verified). Names follow the GBIF backbone and Wikidata; the facts follow the sources below; photo recognition is not offered.
