Lavender has been one of the most popular medicinal herbs since time immemorial. Lavender's name is derived from the Latin word lavarre, which means to wash. In ancient Arab medicine, lavender was widely used as an expectorant. In the folk medicine of Europe, lavender has held a reputation as a useful wound herb. The most common types of healing lavenders are L. angustifolia and L. spica. French lavender, L. stoechas, is perhaps one of the most commonly used varieties of lavender.

The flowers of the lavender plant are used to create an array of herbal remedies. Herbalists as bitter describe the character of the lavender flowers, cooling and mainly dry. The flowers are known to contain tannins, volatile oils, coumarins, triterpernoids, and flavonoids. Lavender is well regarded for its ability to promote bile flow, and it is well known as a relaxant, antispasmodic, circulatory stimulant, and antiseptic, a tonic for the nervous system, an analgesic, and a carminative.