Lavandula occurs in the wild in a crescent shaped distribution from the Atlantic islands in the west, over the Mediterranean Basin, North Africa, Arabia and as far as central and southern India in the east. It does not occur in the wild in the southern hemisphere.

The lavenders show a range of leaf and flower shapes and vary in habit from tall shrubby plants to herbs with a woody base sending up new flowering stems each year. Some of the more tender varieties are best treated as annuals in cooler climates but the lavenders that are in common cultivation in gardens or grown for their oil are considered hardy. L. angustifolia and L. x intermedia are hardy to between -15^o to -20^oC (5^o to -4^oF).

This classification follows the latest revision of the genus by Tim Upson and Susyn Andrews ( The Genus Lavandula 2004 published by The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew ISBN 1 84246 010 2). The most obvious change is the erection of three new subgenera. The previous six sections are retained and two new ones added, making eight in all. Some new species are recognised, bringing the total number of wild species to 39.

I. Subgenus Lavandula Upson & S. Andrews subgen. nov.

i. Section Lavandula (3 species)

Distribution: Central and south-west Europe

1. L. angustifolia Mill.
   1. subsp. angustifolia
   2. subsp. pyrenaica (DC.) Guinea
2. L. latifolia Medik.
3. L. lanata Boiss.

Hybrids

L.x intermedia Emeric ex Loisel. (L. angustifolia subsp. angustifolia x L. latifolia )
L.x aurigerana Mailho (L. angustifolia subsp. pyrenaica x L. latifolia )
L.x losae Rivas Goday ex Sanchez Gomez, Alcaraz & Garcia Vall. (L. latifolia x L. lanata )
L.x chaytorae Upson & S. Andrews nothosp. nov. (L. angustifolia subsp. angustifolia x L. lanata )

ii. Section Dentatae Suarez-Cerv. & Seoane-Camba (1 species)

Distribution: Western Mediterranean region, south-western Arabian Peninsula and north-east Africa

4. L. dentata L
   1. var. dentata
      f. rosea Maire
      f. albiflora Maire
   2. var. candicans Batt.
      f. persicina Maire ex Upson & S. Andrews f. nov.

iii. Section Stoechas Ging. (3 species)

Distribution: Mediterranean basin

5. L. stoechas L
   1. subsp. stoechas
      f. leucantha (Ging.) Upson & S. Andrews comb. nov.
      f. rosea Maire
   2. subsp. luisieri (Rozeira) Rozeira
6. L. pedunculata (Mill) Cav.
   1. subsp. pedunculata
   2. subsp. cariensis (Boiss.) Upson & S. Andrews
   3. subsp. atlantica (Braun-Blanq.) Romo
   4. subsp. lusitanica (Chaytor) Franco
   5. subsp. sampaiana (Rozeira) Franco
7. L. viridis L'Her.

Hybrids

L.x cadevallii Sennen (L. pedunculata subsp. pedunculata x L. stoechas subsp. stoechas)
L.x alportelensis P. Silva, Fontes & Myre (L. stoecha subsp. luisieri x L. viridis )
L.x limae Rozeira (L. pedunculata subsp. lusitanica x L. viridis )
L. pedunculata subsp. maderensis Benth. (L. pedunculata subsp. pedunculata x L. viridis )
L. pedunculata subsp. atlantica x L. pedunculata subsp. pedunculata
L. pedunculata and L. stoechas x L. viridis hybrids

Intersectional Hybrids (involving sections Dentatae and Lavandula)

L.x heterophylla Viv. (L. denata x L. latifolia ) and the larger modern hybrids (including L. x allardii)
L.x ginginsii Upson & S. Andrews nothosp. nov.(L. dentata x L. lanata )

II. Subgenus Fabricia (Adams.) Upson & S. Andrews, comb.nov.

iv. Section Pterostoechas Ging. (16 species)

Distribution: Macaronesia: Canary Islands, Cape Verde Islands and Madeira; Mediterranean basin, southern Europe; North Africa; and south-west Asia including the southern Arabian Peninsula and reaching Iran in the east.

8. L. multifida L.
f. pallescens Maire
9. L. canariensis Mill.
1. subsp. canariensis
2. subsp. canariae Upson & S. Andrews subsp. nov.
3. subsp. gomerensis Upson & S. Andrews subsp. nov.
4. subsp. palmensis Upson & S. Andrews subsp. nov.
5. subsp. hierrensis Upson & S. Andrews subsp. nov.
6. subsp. lancerottensis Upson & S. Andrews subsp. nov.
7. subsp. fuerteventurae Upson & S. Andrews subsp. nov.
10. L. minutolii Bolle
1. var. minutolii
2. var. tenuipinna Svent.
11. L. bramwellii Upson & S. Andrews
12. L. pinnata L.f.
f. incarnata Sunding
13. L. buchii Webb & Berthel.
1. var. buchii
2. var. gracile M.C.Leon.
3. var. tolpidifolia (Svent.) M.C.Leon.
14. L. rotundifolia Benth.
15. L. maroccana Murb.
16. L. tenuisecta Coss. ex Ball
17. L. rejdalii Upson & Jury
18. L. mairei Humbert
1. var. mairei
2. var. antiatlantica (Maire) Maire
19. L. coronopifolia Poir.
20. L. saharica Upson & Jury
21. L. antineae Maire
1. subsp. antineae
2. subsp. tibestica Upson & Jury
3. subsp. marrana Upson & Jury
22. L. pubescens Decne.
23. L. citriodora A.G. Mill.

Hybrids

L. buchii var. buchii x L. canariensis subsp. canariensis
L.coronopifolia x L. rotundifolia
L.buchii var. buchii x L. canariensis subsp. canariae, including L. SIDONIE and other hybrids
L. x christiana Gattef. & Maire (L. pinnata x L. canariensis)
L. x murbeckiana Emb. & Maire (L. maroccana x L. multifida)

v. Section Subnudae Chaytor (10 species)

Distribution: North-east tropical Africa, southern Arabian Peninsula and Socotra.

24. L. subnuda Benth.
25. L. macra Baker
26. L. dhofarensis A.G. Mill.
1. subsp. dhofarensis
2. subsp. ayunensis A.G. Mill.
27. L. samhanensis Upson & S. Andrews sp. nov.
28. L. setifera T. Anderson
29. L. qishnensis Upson & S. Andrews sp. nov.
30. L. nimmoi Benth.
31. L. galgalloensis A.G. Mill.
32. L. aristibracteata A.G. Mill.
33. L. somaliensis Chaytor

vi. Section Chaetostachys Benth. (2 species)

Distribution: Central and Southern India.

34. L. bipinnata (Roth) Kuntze
35. L. gibsonii J. Graham

vii. Section Hasikenses Upson & S. Andrews, sect. nov. (2 species)

Distribution: Oman and Iran.

36. L. hasikensis A.G. Mill.
37. L. sublepidota Rech. f.

III. Subgenus Sabaudia (Buscal. & Muschl.) Upson & S. Andrews, comb. et stat. nov.

viii. Section Sabaudia (Buscal. & Muschl.) Upson & S. Andrews, comb. et stat. nov. (2 species)

Distribution: Saudi Arabia, Republic of Yemen, Egypt and Eritrea.

38. L. atriplicifolia Benth.
39. L. erythraeae (Chiov.) Cufod.