lavender

History of Lavender.

In Part I of The History of Lavender we covered the origins and uses of the aromatic herb throughout history. Part II continues with a discussion of lavender uses in folklore and medicine.
 

Folklore.

Like many of the other herbs discussed on the pages Our Herb Garden, lavender also has a connection to witch-craft and sorcery. Lavender was believed by the Tuscans to counteract the evil eye.
 

Medicinal Uses of Lavender.

One early work suggests steeping and draining a hank of cotton in the oil of lavender and hanging the dry cotton around the neck to ward off bugs and "other noxious insects" from attacking.
 
Oleum spicoe was created by mixing lavender oil with turpentine or spirit of wine and used for the curing of old sprains and stiff joints. Lavender oil, preferably made from the flowering tops as opposed to the stalks, was also used to stimilate paralysed limbs.
 
Taken orally, lavender oil was credited with being a restorative and tonic against faintness, palpatations of a nervous sort, weak giddiness, spasms and colic. It was used to increase appetite, raise the spirits and dispel flatulence. It was also used for hysteria, palsy and similar disorders and acted as a powerful stimulant.
 
Gerard, author of Herball or Historie of Plants(1597), a work that borrows its information liberally from Dr. Priest's earlier work Pemptades (1583), mentions using distilled water from the lavender flowers or oil made from the flowers and olive oil to treat palsy with the statement that doing so will "profiteth them much."
 
Macerating the oils of lavender and rosemary, with cinnamon bark, nutmeg, and red sandal wood in wine for seven days produces tincture of red lavender which was once a popular medicinal cordial. "Palsy Drops", a once well-known compound, was made from lavender with rosemary, cinnamon, nutmeg, red sandal wood, and spirits.
 
Lavandula latifolia essential oil is thought to promote the growth of hair when "weakly" or falling off.
 
Rubbing a few drops of lavender oil on the temples is said to cure nervous headaches. A tea brewed from lavender flowers was often prescribed as a treatment for headaches from fatigue or weakness.
 
However, over-consumption of lavender oil from the tops can cause griping and colic. If the dose is substantial, it can cause a narcotic poisoning which causes death by convulsions.
 
One early British work mentions that the lions and tigers in the Zoological gardens "powerfully affected by the smell of lavender water and become docile under its influence."
 
The antiseptic powers of lavender were well known and bundles of the dried herb would be burnt and left to smolder as a fumigant in a sickroom. (No date was given for this practice but the original source implies that the practice continues in the present day.)
 

Modern Medicinal Uses.

Researchers are finding many of the medicinal attributes that have been paired with lavender throughout the centuries to be valid. Essential lavender oil has been scientifically found to be a powerful antiseptic that can kill typhoid, diphtheria, streptococcus, and pneumococus bacteria. And it is actually an effective antidote for some snake venoms.
 
Most of the remaining of the earlier medical claims relating to lavender and lavender oil also appear to be founded upon fact with perhaps the notable exception of it being protection against the evil eye.
 

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