Editing Lavandula (section)

==In culture==
{{see also|Spikenard}}
<!--This section, like the article, deals with the lavender PLANT and not other uses of the word.-->

The [[Ancient Greece|ancient Greeks]] called the lavender herb νάρδος: nárdos, Latinized as ''nardus'', after the Syrian city of Naarda (possibly the modern town of [[Duhok]], Iraq). It was also commonly called ''nard''.<ref>The origin of most of these quotes comes from Dr. William Thomas Fernie, in his book "Herbal Simples" (Bristol Pub., second edition, 1897), [https://archive.org/details/b20405297/page/298/mode/2up?q=nardus page 298]:
<blockquote>'By the Greeks the name Nardus is given to Lavender, from Naarda, a city of Syria near the Euphrates, and many persons call the plant "Nard." St. Mark mentions this as Spikenard, a thing of great value. In Pliny's time, blossoms of the Nardus sold for a hundred Roman denarii (or L.3 2s. 6d.) the pound. This Lavender or Nardus was called Asarum by the Romans, because it was not used in garlands or chaplets. It was formerly believed that the asp, a dangerous kind of viper, made Lavender its habitual place of abode, so that the plant had to be approached with great caution.'</blockquote></ref> The species originally grown was [[Lavandula stoechas|''L.&nbsp;stoechas'']].<ref name=upsonandrews/>

During [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] times, flowers were sold for 100 ''[[denarii]]'' per [[Libra (weight)|pound]], which was about the same as a month's wages for a farm laborer, or fifty haircuts from the local barber. <!--Lavender was commonly used in [[Roman bath]]s to scent the water, and it was thought to restore the skin.<ref>This is contradicted in Upson and Andrews, quoting (p. 78) Fagan 1999 a standard work on bathing in Roman Europe</ref> --> Its [[late Latin]] name was ''lavandārius'', from ''lavanda'' (things to be washed), from ''lavāre'' from the verb ''lavo'' (to wash).<ref name="LD"/><ref>{{Cite book |title=Oxford English Dictionary |edition=second |year=1989 |quote=Note however that Upson and Andrews refer to research on bathing in the Roman Empire, and state that there is no mention of the use of lavender in works on this subject.| title-link=Oxford English Dictionary
}}</ref>

The plant and its [[Lavender (color)|color]] are used to represent the [[LGBTQ community]] in such events as the [[Lavender Scare]] and [[lavender marriage]], among other community symbols since the [[19th century]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Willingham |first=AJ|date=2023-06-25 |title=The secret queer history of flowers |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/25/us/flowers-lgbtq-lavender-meaning-cec/index.html |access-date=2025-05-18 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref>