Common Name:

General Information

Lavandula maroccana is an evergreen perennial plant with stems that become woody near the base. It branches freely from the base with ascending stems 50 - 100cm long[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine and as a flavouring in tea and coffee.
Lavandula maroccana is a very local species, with a varied abundance from very rare occurrences to occasional in some locations but most of the subpopulations are isolated. The number of mature individuals and the population density has been significantly reduced during the last decades and the species occurs often in small subpopulations. The species is under numerous threats, in particular due to overharvesting for domestic uses and for trade; unsustainable harvesting and collection practices; overgrazing; deforestation; erosion and drought, with an estimated continuing decline in the population size and the habitats quality on all the locations. The plant is classified as 'Vulnerable' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2020)[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Northwest Africa - Morocco

Habitat

Rocky slopes, screes of limestone, schist and clearings of dry forests of low mountains[].

Properties

Conservation Status	Vulnerable
Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Evergreen Shrub
Height	0.70 m
Pollinators	Insects
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Lavandula maroccana is a plant of moderate to high elevations in the arid and semi-arid regions of Morocco. It succeeds in other Mediterranean regions, but has not proven to be very cold tolerant in most of the temperate zone, though it flowers well when grown as a summer bedding plant[]..
Requires an open, sunny position in a well-drained soil, growing in calcareous and clay-loam soils in the wild[].

Edible Uses

Lavandula maroccana is commonly used as flavouring plant for tea and coffee. The plant is collected during summer in dry places and conserved dry during winter[].

Medicinal

An infusion of the plant (flowering stems?), generally combined with the leaves of thyme (Thymus species) and/or mint (Mentha species) is used to treat general pain, stomach ache, and menstrual cramps[].
An infusion, decoction or powder of the plant is used to treat digestive problems, diarrhoea, and fevers[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse and only just cover the seed[]. It usually germinates in 1 - 3 months at 15°c. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse or cold frame for their first winter, planting them out in late spring after the last expected frosts.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood 7 - 10cm with a heel, mid summer in a frame. Usually very easy, a high percentage will root within a few weeks[]. Grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter and plant them out in late spring after the last expected frosts.
Cuttings 7cm with a heel succeed at almost any time of the year[].
Layering.