The name ?lavender? is linked to the Latin ?lavare? ? to wash; its fresh smell is associated with cleanliness. The Romans brought the plant to England and by the sixteenth century lavender was a common plant in English cottage gardens. It has always been widely cultivated in France. In the early 20th century it was lavender oil which caused French perfume chemist Rene Gattefosse to create the term ?aromatherapy?, after he used it to cure a laboratory burn on his hand.