''Cymbopogon'', also known as lemongrass, barbed wire grass, silky heads, Cochin grass, Malabar grass, oily heads, citronella grass or fever grass, is a genus of

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

n, Australian, and tropical island plants in the grass family. Some species (particularly '' Cymbopogon citratus'') are commonly cultivated as culinary and medicinal herbs because of their scent, resembling that of

lemon The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China. The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culin ...

s (''Citrus limon''). The name cymbopogon derives from the Greek words (, 'boat') and (, 'beard') "which mean

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

in most species, the hairy spikelets project from boat-shaped spathes." Lemongrass and its oil are believed to possess therapeutic properties.

Uses

Citronella grass ('' Cymbopogon nardus'' and '' Cymbopogon winterianus'') grow to about and have magenta-colored base stems. These species are used for the production of

citronella oil Citronella oil Citronella oil is an essential oil obtained from the leaves and stems of different species of ''Cymbopogon'' (lemongrass). The oil is used extensively as a source of perfumery chemicals such as citronellal, citronellol, and geranio ...

, which is used in soaps, as an

insect repellent An insect repellent (also commonly called "bug spray") is a substance applied to skin, clothing, or other surfaces to discourage insects (and arthropods in general) from landing or climbing on that surface. Insect repellents help prevent and cont ...

(especially mosquitoes and houseflies) in insect sprays and candles, and aromatherapy. The principal chemical constituents of citronella,

geraniol Geraniol is a monoterpenoid and an alcohol. It is the primary component of citronella oil and is a primary component of rose oil, palmarosa oil. It is a colorless oil, although commercial samples can appear yellow. It has low solubility in w ...

and

citronellol Citronellol, or dihydrogeraniol, is a natural acyclic monoterpenoid. Both enantiomers occur in nature. (+)-Citronellol, which is found in citronella oils, including ''Cymbopogon nardus'' (50%), is the more common isomer. (−)-Citronellol is w ...

, are

antiseptics An antiseptic (from Greek ἀντί ''anti'', "against" and σηπτικός ''sēptikos'', "putrefactive") is an antimicrobial substance or compound that is applied to living tissue/skin to reduce the possibility of infection, sepsis, or putre ...

, hence their use in household disinfectants and soaps. Besides oil production, citronella grass is also used for culinary purposes as a flavoring. East Indian lemongrass ('' Cymbopogon flexuosus''), also called Cochin grass or Malabar grass, is native to

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

, Laos,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, Sri Lanka,

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

, and

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

, while West Indian lemongrass ('' Cymbopogon citratus'') is native to

maritime Southeast Asia Maritime Southeast Asia comprises the countries of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and East Timor. Maritime Southeast Asia is sometimes also referred to as Island Southeast Asia, Insular Southeast Asia or Oceanic Sout ...

. While both can be used interchangeably, ''C. citratus'' is more suitable for cooking. In India, ''C. citratus'' is used as a medical herb and in perfumes. ''C. citratus'' is consumed as a tea for anxiety in Brazilian folk medicine, but a study in humans found no effect. The tea caused a recurrence of

contact dermatitis Contact dermatitis is a type of acute or chronic inflammation of the skin caused by exposure to chemical or physical agents. Symptoms of contact dermatitis can include itchy or dry skin, a red rash, bumps, blisters, or swelling. These rashes are ...

in one case. In the Caribbean, the tea is also brewed and consumed to boost immunity. It is called Tanglad in the Philippines, where it is believed that it has health benefits for the liver and the kidneys. One study found the tea may exert an

erythropoiesis Erythropoiesis (from Greek 'erythro' meaning "red" and 'poiesis' "to make") is the process which produces red blood cells (erythrocytes), which is the development from erythropoietic stem cell to mature red blood cell. It is stimulated by decrea ...

boosting effect. In Hoodoo, lemongrass is the primary ingredient of

van van oil A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across ...

, one of the most popular oils used in conjure. Lemongrass is used in this preparation and on its own in hoodoo to protect against evil, spiritually clean a house, and to bring good luck in love affairs. In beekeeping, lemongrass oil imitates the

pheromone A pheromone () is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting like hormones outside the body of the secreting individual, to affect the behavio ...

emitted by a

honeybee A honey bee (also spelled honeybee) is a eusocial flying insect within the genus ''Apis'' of the bee clade, all native to Afro-Eurasia. After bees spread naturally throughout Africa and Eurasia, humans became responsible for the current cosm ...

's Nasonov gland to attract bees to a hive or a swarm.

Species

Species included in the genus include: * '' Cymbopogon ambiguus'' (Australian lemon-scented grass) – Australia, Timor * '' Cymbopogon annamensis'' – Yunnan, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand * '' Cymbopogon bhutanicus'' – Bhutan * ''

Cymbopogon bombycinus ''Cymbopogon bombycinus'', or citronella grass (also called silky oil grass) is a species of perennial grass in the family Poaceae that is native to Australia. Description ''Cymbopogon bombycinus'' is a tufted perennial bunchgrass, without ...

'' silky oilgrass – Australia * ''

Cymbopogon caesius ''Cymbopogon'', also known as lemongrass, barbed wire grass, silky heads, Cochin grass, Malabar grass, oily heads, citronella grass or fever grass, is a genus of Asian, African, Australian, and tropical island plants in the grass family. Some s ...

'' – Sub-Saharan Africa, Indian Subcontinent, Yemen, Afghanistan, Madagascar, Comoros, Réunion * ''

Cymbopogon calcicola ''Cymbopogon'', also known as lemongrass, barbed wire grass, silky heads, Cochin grass, Malabar grass, oily heads, citronella grass or fever grass, is a genus of Asian, African, Australian, and tropical island plants in the Poaceae, grass famil ...

'' – Thailand,

Kedah Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman and historically as Queda, is a state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area of over 9,000 km2, and it consists of the mainland ...

* '' Cymbopogon calciphilus'' – Thailand * '' Cymbopogon cambogiensis'' – Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam * '' Cymbopogon citratus'' (lemon grass or West Indian lemon grass) – Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Philippines * ''

Cymbopogon clandestinus ''Cymbopogon'', also known as lemongrass, barbed wire grass, silky heads, Cochin grass, Malabar grass, oily heads, citronella grass or fever grass, is a genus of Asian, African, Australian, and tropical island plants in the grass family. Some s ...

'' – Thailand, Myanmar, Andaman Islands * '' Cymbopogon coloratus'' –

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

, Myanmar, Vietnam * '' Cymbopogon commutatus'' – Sahel, East Africa, Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan * '' Cymbopogon densiflorus'' – central + south-central Africa * '' Cymbopogon dependens'' – Australia * ''

Cymbopogon dieterlenii ''Cymbopogon'', also known as lemongrass, barbed wire grass, silky heads, Cochin grass, Malabar grass, oily heads, citronella grass or fever grass, is a genus of Asian, African, Australian, and tropical island plants in the grass family. Some s ...

'' – Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa * '' Cymbopogon distans'' – Gansu,

Guizhou Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to the ...

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

, Tibet, Yunnan, Nepal, northern Pakistan, Jammu & Kashmir * '' Cymbopogon exsertus'' – Nepal, Assam * '' Cymbopogon flexuosus'' (East Indian lemon grass) – Indian Subcontinent, Indochina * '' Cymbopogon gidarba'' – Indian Subcontinent, Myanmar, Yunnan * '' Cymbopogon giganteus'' – Africa, Madagascar * '' Cymbopogon globosus'' – Maluku, New Guinea, Queensland * '' Cymbopogon goeringii'' – China, Korea, Japan incl Ryukyu Islands, Vietnam * '' Cymbopogon gratus'' – Queensland * '' Cymbopogon jwarancusa'' –

Socotra Socotra or Soqotra (; ar, سُقُطْرَىٰ ; so, Suqadara) is an island of the Republic of Yemen in the Indian Ocean, under the ''de facto'' control of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council, a secessionist participant in Yemen’ ...

, Turkey, Middle East, Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Indian Subcontinent, Tibet,

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the C ...

, Vietnam * '' Cymbopogon khasianus'' – Yunnan, Guangxi, Assam, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand * '' Cymbopogon liangshanensis'' – Sichuan * '' Cymbopogon mandalaiaensis'' – Myanmar * '' Cymbopogon marginatus'' –

Cape Province The Province of the Cape of Good Hope ( af, Provinsie Kaap die Goeie Hoop), commonly referred to as the Cape Province ( af, Kaapprovinsie) and colloquially as The Cape ( af, Die Kaap), was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequen ...

of South Africa * '' Cymbopogon martini'' (palmarosa) – Indian Subcontinent, Myanmar, Vietnam * '' Cymbopogon mekongensis'' – China, Indochina * '' Cymbopogon microstachys'' Indian Subcontinent, Myanmar, Thailand, Yunnan * '' Cymbopogon microthecus'' – Nepal, Bhutan, Assam, West Bengal, Bangladesh * '' Cymbopogon minor'' – Yunnan * ''

Cymbopogon minutiflorus ''Cymbopogon'', also known as lemongrass, barbed wire grass, silky heads, Cochin grass, Malabar grass, oily heads, citronella grass or fever grass, is a genus of Asian, African, Australian, and tropical island plants in the grass family. Some s ...

'' – Sulawesi * '' Cymbopogon nardus'' (citronella grass) – Indian Subcontinent, Indochina, central + southern Africa, Madagascar,

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, ...

* '' Cymbopogon nervatus'' – Myanmar, Thailand, central Africa * ''

Cymbopogon obtectus ''Cymbopogon obtectus'' is a species of perennial grass in the genus ''Cymbopogon''. The grass is native to Australia and was described by Stanley Thatcher Blake Stanley Thatcher Blake (1910 – 24 February 1973) was an Australian botanist who ...

'' Silky-heads – Australia * '' Cymbopogon osmastonii'' – India, Bangladesh * '' Cymbopogon pendulus'' – Yunnan, eastern Himalayas, Myanmar, Vietnam * '' Cymbopogon polyneuros'' – Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka, Myanmar * '' Cymbopogon pospischilii'' – eastern + southern Africa, Oman, Yemen, Himalayas, Tibet, Yunnan * '' Cymbopogon procerus'' – Australia, New Guinea, Maluku, Lesser Sunda Islands, Sulawesi * '' Cymbopogon pruinosus'' – islands of Indian Ocean * '' Cymbopogon queenslandicus'' – Queensland * '' Cymbopogon quinhonensis'' – Vietnam * '' Cymbopogon rectus'' – Lesser Sunda Islands, Java * '' Cymbopogon refractus'' (barbed wire grass) – Australia incl Norfolk Island * '' Cymbopogon schoenanthus'' (camel hay or camel grass) – Sahara, Sahel, eastern Africa, Arabian Peninsular, Iran * '' Cymbopogon tortilis'' – China incl Taiwan,

Ryukyu The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yonagu ...

+ Bonin Is, Philippines, Vietnam, Maluku * '' Cymbopogon tungmaiensis'' – Sichuan, Tibet, Yunnan * '' Cymbopogon winterianus'' (citronella grass) – Borneo, Java, Sumatra * ''

Cymbopogon xichangensis ''Cymbopogon'', also known as lemongrass, barbed wire grass, silky heads, Cochin grass, Malabar grass, oily heads, citronella grass or fever grass, is a genus of Asian, African, Australian, and tropical island plants in the grass family. Some s ...

'' – Sichuan ;Formerly included Numerous species are now regarded as better suited to other genera, including '' Andropogon,

Exotheca ''Exotheca'' is a monotypic genus of African and Southeast Asian plants in the grass family. The only known species is ''Exotheca abyssinica'', which has a disjunct (discontinuous) distribution. It is native to Vietnam and also to eastern and s ...

Hyparrhenia ''Hyparrhenia'' is a genus of grasses. Many species are known commonly as thatching grass. They are mostly native to tropical Africa; some can be found in warmer areas in temperate Eurasia, Australia, and Latin America. These are annual and pere ...

, Iseilema, Schizachyrium, and

Themeda ''Themeda'' is a genus of plants in the grass family native to Asia, Africa, Australia, and Papuasia. There are about 18Barkworth, M. E''Themeda''.Grass Manual. Flora of North America. to 26Potdar, G. G., et al. (2003)A new species of ''Themeda'' ...

''.

Images

File:Serai.jpg, Lemongrass at a market File:Prepared lemon grass.JPG, Prepared lemongrass File:LemongrassEssOil.png, Lemongrass (''Cymbopogon flexuosus'') essential oil in clear glass vial File:Yam thale.jpg, Thai ''yam takhrai kung sot'' (ยำตะไคร้กุ้งสด), a salad ( ''yam'') made with prawns and finely sliced fresh lemongrass File:Dinuguan made with choice pork cuts and spiced with lemongrass.jpg, A knot of lemongrass used to impart fragrance in ''

dinuguan ''Dinuguan'' () is a Filipino savory stew usually of pork offal (typically lungs, kidneys, intestines, ears, heart and snout) and/or meat simmered in a rich, spicy dark gravy of pig blood, garlic, chili (most often '' siling haba''), and vin ...

'' (

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

pork blood Many cultures consume blood, often in combination with meat. The blood may be in the form of blood sausage, as a thickener for sauces, a cured salted form for times of food scarcity, or in a blood soup. This is a product from domesticated a ...

stew) File:LEMON GRASS (8313631600).jpg, Knots of lemongrass ready for use in

Filipino cuisine Filipino cuisine ( fil, lutong Pilipino/pagkaing Pilipino) is composed of the cuisines of more than a hundred distinct ethnolinguistic groups found throughout the Philippine archipelago. A majority of mainstream Filipino dishes that compose Fi ...

References

Bibliography

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q5727732 Grasses of Africa Grasses of Asia Poaceae genera Poales of Australia Medicinal plants