Lavender

Lavender, a Mediterranean mountain plant, belongs to the family of Labiatae (mint family), which also includes many other fragrant and aromatic plants. The vast, blue-violet lavender fields in the mountain regions of Provence possess a magical allure. Has a piece of heaven here connected with the earth? In a fragrant lavender field, we feel suffused with a quiet, pure energy.

The inflorescence of lavender is entirely elevated above the realm of the leaves. Closely packed, the flowers surround the ends of the upright branches and, when many plants stand together, the narrow leaves are hidden from view. This leads to a situation where, shortly before and at the time of flowering, the sunlight only weakly penetrates the vegetative sphere of the leaves; the plant has fully become flower and offers itself to the air of the heavens. How are the individual flower whorls arranged within the inflorescence?

After the branch already slightly surpasses the leaves, the inflorescence begins to announce itself with a small flower whorl surrounding the stem. After a gap, a second whorl appears, and after another, shorter gap, the full inflorescence is revealed. The flowering effect announces itself in stages – in a kind of flower ladder with progressively shorter steps. Have you ever closely examined lavender flowers from the pharmacy?

Anyone with basic botanical knowledge will recognise that these are mostly calyces. The oval calyces have the same deep colour as the flowers, which is why the “inconsistency” does not immediately stand out. It is a peculiarity of lavender that it is harvested shortly before or at the beginning of flowering, so that most of the “lavender flowers” are still in the bud stage. There is a reason for this: contrary to the rule that the fragrance and active ingredient content of floral drugs is highest at full bloom, we find the greatest healing power in lavender at the beginning of flowering.

The oval flower calyx is like a vessel. The five calyx leaves are completely fused, and four of the five calyx leaf teeth are barely present. The fifth calyx leaf tooth, however, is expanded and forms a heart-shaped lip that lays over the opening of the calyx vessel (visible with a magnifying glass). This lip opens immediately when the corolla pushes out of the calyx.

A beautiful signature: an egg-shaped calyx with a small little lid. In the development of life, the germination of the seed is followed by unfolding and growth, then flowering and reproduction, later the wilting, fruit ripening and finally withering and dying to make room for a new cycle. The peak of natural life is seen in full bloom. But only when it has wilted can a fruit, a seed for new life, develop from it.

Lavender reaches its peak not, as usual, at the time of full bloom but somewhat before. It seems as if lavender wants to point to another developmental possibility beyond the natural, biological cycle. A spiritual higher development – which is to grow into true wisdom in old age – must begin at a time when the person still possesses full vitality. Transcendence is also expressed in the violet colour of the flower.