Herb. No. 089 · Poaceae
Tropical Asian kitchen grass; a pot plant north of the frost line.
Native · South Asia · Southeast Asia
Native Also grown
OpenGentleplant
Lemongrass
Cymbopogon citratus
A tropical clump that puts lemon in soup — fever-and-digestion folklore with a wok pedigree.
Lemongrass is Southeast Asian kitchen furniture. Traditional use includes feverish colds and a carminative tea. Culinary stalks are the daily form. The essential oil (citral) is not a beverage. A pot in a warm window is a real crop north of the frost line.
Flavor
Lemon zest, ginger-grass, a little fat when you bruise the bulb — soup, not candy.
Parts used
Stalk · Leaf
In favor
- True food medicine
- Easy from a grocery stalk
Against
- Tender
- Oil burns skin undiluted