Common name: Lemon Grass, Oil grass, West Indian lemon grass • Hindi: गंधत्रिण Gandhatrina • Manipuri: হাওনা Haona • Marathi: Olecha • Tamil: கர்ப்பூரப்புல் Karppurappul • Malayalam: Vasana Pullu • Telugu: Nimmagaddi • Kannada: Majjigehullu • Bengali: গংধবেনা Gandhabena • Konkani: Oli-cha • Gujarati: લિલિચા Lilicha • Sanskrit: Bhustrina
Botanical name: Cymbopogon citratus Family: Poaceae (Grass family)
Lemon Grass is a fragrant herb which is increasingly being used in teas,
beverages, herbal medicines, and Eastern inspired soups and other dishes.
This grass grows in dense clumps that can grow to 6 ft in height and about
4 ft in width, although it commonly seen much smaller. Leaves are
strap-like, 1.3-2.5 cm wide, to 3 ft long, and have gracefully drooping
tips. The evergreen leaves are bright bluish-green and release a citrus
aroma when crushed. The fragrant leaves are the part that is used as
flavoring. Leaves are steam distilled to extract lemongrass oil. The lemon
grass plants rarely produce flowers. In fact, there are many cultivars
which never flower. Lemon grass is native to India, Sri Lanka and
South-East Asia. It is found growing naturally in tropical grasslands. It
is also extensively cultivated throughout tropical Asia.
| Photographed in Garden of Five Senses, Delhi. |
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