''Ctenium aromaticum'' is a species of

grass Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family (biology), family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and spe ...

known by the common name toothache grass. It is native to the southeastern United States, where it grows on the

coastal plain A coastal plain (also coastal plains, coastal lowland, coastal lowlands) is an area of flat, low-lying land adjacent to a sea coast. A fall line commonly marks the border between a coastal plain and an upland area. Formation Coastal plains can f ...

.''Ctenium aromaticum''.
Grass Manual Treatment. This is a perennial grass that forms clumps of stems reaching in maximum height. The leaves are up to long. The

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

is a

panicle In botany, a panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a p ...

with one branch that is up to long and lined on one side with two rows of spikelets. Each spikelet is roughly long. It is not known whether or not the grass was ever used as a remedy for

toothache Toothaches, also known as dental pain or tooth pain,Segen JC. (2002). ''McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine''. The McGraw-Hill Companies. is pain in the teeth or their supporting structures, caused by dental diseases or referred ...

. It has, however, been used as a

sialagogue A sialogogue (also spelled sialagogue, ptysmagogue or ptyalagogue) is a substance, especially a medication, that increases the flow rate of saliva. The definition focuses on substances that promote production or secretion of saliva (proximal causa ...

, an agent that increases

saliva Saliva (commonly referred as spit or drool) is an extracellular fluid produced and secreted by salivary glands in the mouth. In humans, saliva is around 99% water, plus electrolytes, mucus, white blood cells, epithelial cells (from which ...

. The crushed roots have a strong scent.Austin, D. F. and P. N. Ionychurch.
Florida Ethnobotany.
' CRC Press 2004. The lower part of the stem produces a numbing sensation when it is chewed.''Ctenium aromaticum''.
USDA NRCS Plant Fact Sheet. The agents responsible for this action are isobutylamides.Gamboa-Leon, R. and W. S. Chilton. (2000)
Isobutylamide numbing agents of toothache grass, ''Ctenium aromaticum''.
''Biochemical Systematics and Ecology'' 28 1019-1021.

References

External links

USDA Plants ProfileNatureServe
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5191629 Chloridoideae