While both lavender essential oil (Lavandula angustifolia) and lavandin essential oil (Lavandula x intermedia) are produced through steam distillation, there are notable differences in their production due to the inherent characteristics of the plants. These differences primarily impact yield, cultivation, and, consequently, cost.
Here's a comparison of their production aspects:
1. Plant Characteristics & Cultivation:
-
Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia, True/English Lavender):
-
Plant Size: Generally a smaller, more compact plant.
-
Flower Structure: Typically has a single flower head per stem, leading to less overall floral material.
-
Growth Habit: Less vigorous growth, requires more specific growing conditions (well-drained soil, higher altitudes in some regions for optimal oil quality).
-
Harvest: Flowers typically earlier in the season (e.g., late June to early July in many regions). Harvesting is often done by hand or with specialized smaller machinery due to the plant's size.
-
Propagation: Can be grown from seed, but cultivars are usually propagated from cuttings to ensure genetic consistency.
-
-
Lavandin (Lavandula x intermedia, Hybrid Lavender):
-
Plant Size: A much larger, more robust, and vigorous plant than true lavender.
-
Flower Structure: Features multiple flower heads per stem, making it much denser and producing significantly more biomass.
-
Growth Habit: Hardier and more adaptable to various growing conditions, including lower altitudes, making it easier to cultivate on a large scale.
-
Harvest: Flowers later in the season (e.g., mid-July to late July). Due to its size and higher yield, it's very well-suited for mechanized harvesting, which significantly reduces labor costs.
-
Propagation: As a sterile hybrid, it must be propagated from cuttings.
-
2. Essential Oil Yield:
-
Lavender: Produces a lower yield of essential oil per unit of plant material and per acre. It takes a much larger quantity of true lavender flowers to extract a small amount of oil, making it more costly to produce.
-
Lavandin: Known for its superior yield. It produces significantly more essential oil per plant and per acre, often two to three times more oil than true lavender. This high yield is a primary reason for its widespread commercial cultivation for essential oil.
3. Distillation Process (Generalities):
-
Steam Distillation: Both true lavender and lavandin essential oils are primarily extracted using steam distillation. The fundamental steps (steam generation, passing through plant material, condensation, separation) are the same.
-
Distillation Time: The typical distillation time for both can range from 1 to 4 hours. However, some sources suggest that due to its woodier stems and higher oil content, lavandin might sometimes benefit from slightly longer distillation runs to ensure complete extraction, though the main difference lies in the plant material itself rather than a fundamentally different process.
-
Plant Material Preparation: Both can be distilled fresh or slightly wilted. Due to the sheer volume, lavandin might be compacted more densely in larger stills.
4. Economic Implications:
-
Cost: Because of its higher yield and easier, more mechanized cultivation and harvesting, lavandin essential oil is significantly less expensive to produce than true lavender essential oil.
-
Market Use: This cost difference influences their primary market applications. True lavender oil, being more precious and having a gentler aroma and superior calming properties, is favored for high-end aromatherapy, fine perfumery, and direct therapeutic use. Lavandin oil, with its stronger, more camphoraceous scent and lower cost, is widely used in soaps, detergents, industrial fragrances, cleaning products, and massage oils where a robust lavender scent and cost-effectiveness are key.
In essence, while the method of distillation is the same, the inputs and outputs differ dramatically. Lavandin is the "workhorse" of the lavender essential oil industry due to its prolific growth and high yield, making it an economically attractive option for mass-produced lavender-scented products. True lavender, despite its lower yield, remains the benchmark for quality and therapeutic efficacy in aromatherapy.
The Lavender Farm in Door County Wisconsin likely understands these distinctions and cultivates their specific lavender varieties (presumably Lavandula angustifolia) to produce an oil valued for its quality rather than sheer volume. You can buy lavender products online at islandlavender.com, appreciating the careful choices made in their production process.