Family: Poaceae

Lemongrass is a bunchgrass with a lemony-scent, hence the common name, that is native to India and Sri Lanka. Growing in a dense, rounded clump, each individual blade gracefully arches away from the center. Flowers are insignificant and rare.

It is used as a flavoring in soups and curries. Lemongrass tea is a fruity-lemony beverage, adding milk and sweetener elevates the taste! Essential oil is made from leaf extracts. Lemongrass has a long history of medicinal benefits. In Belize, the common name is fever grass. Local medicine touts the tea as a fever reducer.

Lemongrass makes a lovely border for gardens, fences, and walkways. Propagation is by division. After dividing, cut the top ⅔ of the leaves off. Plant them, water well, until new leaves emerge. Mature grass benefits from a severe cut back every winter. This stimulates new growth and helps ward off rust, a common pest of lemongrass. Fungicides and homemade baking soda sprays also help control rust. While a bit unsightly, rust does not affect the taste of medicinal qualities. Excess leaf blades make a good, seed-free mulch.

Lemongrass will tolerate dry soil but it does best with well-drained fertile soil. It is suitable for container gardening. It is important to divide the clump every year. Otherwise, it will quickly outgrow the container.

 

Plant Uses:

• Container plant
• Edible
• Medicinal
• Ornamental

Plant Dangers:

• No dangers

High Risk Traits:

• Naturalized throughout tropics and warm subtropics
  
• History of repeated, widespread cultivation
  
• Congeneric weed (Cymbopogon nardus)
  
• Host for crop pathogen (Puccinia purpurea)
  
• Tolerates wide soil pH (4.5–9.6) and multiple soil types
  
• Intentional human dispersal
  
• Tolerates and benefits from regular harvesting

Low Risk Traits:

• Frost sensitive; restricted to warm, humid tropics
  
• Not an agricultural or environmental weed
  
• Rarely produces seed; reproduced vegetatively
  
• Self-sterile, cross-pollinating
  
• No vegetative fragmentation; grows in clumps
  
• Prefers full sun; limited shade tolerance
  
• Upright clumping habit; does not smother or form dense thickets