Alternative Name(s): Bush lavender, French lavender, Italian Lavender, Spanish lavender Family: Lamiaceae Form: Shrub Origin: Native to the Mediterranean Weed Type(s): Weed, Noxious Weed, Naturalised, Garden Escape, Environmental Weed, Casual Alien

Notes: Topped lavender is a small upright shrub to 1m high. The opposite leaves are downy, grayish-green and fragrant. Flowers are deep purple and fragrant in cylindrical heads topped with a few distinctive violet bracts. Abundant seeds are produced in late spring and early summer.

Topped lavender has been in cultivation in Australia since 1857 and was recorded in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens in 1858. It appears in Victorian nursery catalogues in the 1870s. It is naturalised in Victoria and South Australia and on the Mt Stromlo Observatory site in Canberra before the 2003 bushfires. It has been declared a noxious weed in parts of Victoria.

Seed is spread by wind and water. As a weed it forms dense patches eliminating other species. It is not eaten by domestic stock and provides harbour for rabbits.

References:

Randall, R. P. (2002). A Global Compendium of Weeds. R. G. & F.J. Richardson, Melbourne.
Brookes, M. and Barley, R. (1992). Plants Listed in Nursery Catalogues in Victoria 1855 - 1889. Ornamental Plants Collections Association, Melbourne.
Parsons, W. T. and Cuthbertson, E. G. (2001). Noxious Weeds of Australia. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Victoria.