Lavandula (common name lavender) is a genus of 47 known species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is native to the Old World and is found from Cape Verde and the Canary Islands, Europe across to northern and eastern Africa, the Mediterranean, southwest Asia to southeast India. Many members of the genus are cultivated extensively in temperate climates as ornamental plants for garden and landscape use, for use as culinary herbs, and also commercially for the extraction of essential oils. Lavandula angustifolia, formerly L. officinalis, is a flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native to the Mediterranean (Spain, France, Italy, Croatia etc.). It is an evergreen shrub growing to between 20–100 cm (8–39 in) tall. The flowers are violet blue, produced on spikes 2–8 cm (0.8–3 in) long at the top of slender, leafless stems 10–60 cm (4–24 in) long. The species name angustifolia is Latin for 'narrow leaf'. Formerly, it was known as Lavandula officinalis, referring to its medicinal properties.

Lavender grows best in well-drained, sandy or gravelly soils in full sun with well-drained soil. Too much shade, especially during the winter months, can lead to fungal diseases such as leaf spot and stem rot. It tolerates most soils as long as they are not waterlogged. It is best planted in the spring.

The map shows known occurrence points of Lavandula angustifolia recorded in scientific biodiversity databases.

Source: GBIF.org — Global Biodiversity Information Facility