Manic Monday #2

Every Friday, Morgen at It's A Blog Eats Blog World posts a word for everyone (who chooses to join in to the Manic Monday meme) to post about on the following Monday. This weeks word is SPIKE.

My original thought when I read the word was something like: Spike. Spike? What a stupid word to use. What in the world can a person write about a big nail? I guess if you're a carpenter or something along those lines you have an advantage, but geeeeze. Okay, if you play volleyball you maybe can write about spiking the ball in a game, but that's kind of limited too. I haven't a clue what to write for spike. What a stupid word to pick.

Then I started trying to come up with something original and interesting about the word spike.
I thought about:


An old cartoon with two dogs, the big one was named Spike, and the little one would be dancing around going "huh, Spike... huh, huh, huh Spike".


Spiritual
People
Instinctively
Know
Enjoyment

Sunbleached
Pebbles
Inspired the
Kaaba's
Earthiness

Ya, okay... but not great. Hmmmm. <think, think, think> I had read the definitions on It's A Blog Eats Blog World but with my dictionary right here, I looked in it and found Spike Lavender: a European mint. <Okay, lots of people online are interested in gardening, and I am wanting to read more about this lavender, so it might make a good Manic Monday post> So to the internet I went. (Click on the links to go to the sites the info came from.)

LAVENDER

Lavandula angustifolia & ssp.: Labiatae

NAMES:

There are at least 28 known species of Lavender, with some species multiply named.

The genus name Lavandula is thought to derive from the Latin verb lavare, to wash. Lavender was apparently popular among the Romans as a bath scent.

What is commonly called Lavender or "English Lavender" is Lavandula angustifolia Mill.: the names L. vera DeCandolle, L. officinalis Chaix ex Villars, and L. spica Linne are synonymous. Angustifolia means "narrow leaved", vera means "true", officinalis means "official", and spica means "tufted".

Another species of commercial importance is L. latifolia Villars, or L. Spica DC, called Spike Lavender or Spike, alternatively Broad Leafed Lavender or Portuguese Lavender. Latifolia means "broadleafed" , spica, again, means "tufted".

L. dentata, called Spanish Lavender or French Lavender, is used in the perfume industry. Dentata means "toothed".

Spike Lavender is shorter with broader, spatula-shaped leaves, a more compressed inflorescence, and narrower bracts. It produces three times as much oil, but the oil has a higher content of cineol and camphor, and so is considered less pleasing.

French Lavender has narrower leaves and very small dark flowers, terminated with a tuft of bright leaflets.

Lavender is native to Mediterranean countries and naturalised to most of Europe and the southern United States. It grows best in full sun in sandy soil at high altitudes. It is cultivated in temperate areas throughout the world.

Lavendar

Lavandula Officinalis

Folk names

Elf leaf, Nard, Nardus, Spike

Description

Lavendar is an evergreen perennial shrub, which grows to approximately 3ft (1m). Flowers are violet. The leaves are greyish-green, narrow and linear. The plant has a strong-sweet fragrance. Lavendar needs a sunny position.

Background information

Lavendar is native to France and the western Mediterranean. It first became popular as a medicine during the late Middle Ages. Related species include spike lavendar.

Traditional uses

Lavendar was used by the Romans as a bath-time cleanser. It has been a popular fragrance since the 18th Century and has been used in soaps, perfumes, tacl and pot-pourri.

Parts used

The flowers and the essential oil are used. The flowers should be harvested towards the end of flowering, when the petals have begun to fade. Lavendar is propagated from seed or cuttings.

Current uses

Digestive system:-	colic, indigestion, wind and bloating
Nervous system:-	depression, headaches, insomnia, irritability, migraine

It is also useful in treating some types of asthma.

So I guess spike turned out to be an okay word after all. Now I'm off to read what other people came up with for todays Manic Monday meme.

Now it's time for you to leave me a comment, and if you have a Manic Monday meme, leave a link to it so I (and others) can come have a look.