The genus of lavender includes many species, the most famous of which, whether in the wild or in cultivation, is true lavender. It is found in the wild in parts of the South or on rocky soils with a limestone tendency. It is also widely cultivated for obtaining essential oils.
Lavender reminds us of the South, especially Provence, the sun and above all a pleasant soothing scent. Our grandmothers' linen closets smell like lavender. In cultivation, we mainly find a hybrid, lavandin, resulting from the cross between true lavender and aspic lavender.
Lavender is very attractive to many insects and of course to bees. This can easily be seen by walking through the Valensole plateau in the Alpes de Haute Provence at the time of their flowering. Every year, the lavender fields are the target of important transhumance to harvest a honey that is very popular among connoisseurs. Lavender honey is very fragrant and with a medium-grained crystallization.
Did you know ?
Lavender nectar is naturally rich in sucrose. As the honey of these species is often very intense, the digestive enzymes of the bees do not have time to completely hydrolyze this sugar from glucose to fructose as is usually the case.