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Cymbopogon

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Food and agriculture;
Plants

                iCymbopogon
   Lemon grass plant
   Lemon grass plant
         Scientific classification

   Kingdom:  Plantae
   Division: Magnoliophyta
   Class:    Liliopsida
   Order:    Poales
   Family:   Poaceae
   Genus:    Cymbopogon
             Spreng.

                                   Species

   About 55, see text

   Cymbopogon (lemon grass, lemongrass, citronella grass or fever grass)
   is a genus of about 55 species of grasses, native to warm temperate and
   tropical regions of the Old World. It is a tall perennial grass.

Cultivation and uses

   Prepared Lemongrass
   Enlarge
   Prepared Lemongrass

   Lemon grass is widely used as an herb in Asian (particularly Khmer,
   Thai, Lao, Sri Lankan, Vietnamese) and Caribbean cooking. It has a
   lemony flavour and can be dried and powdered, or used fresh. The stalk
   itself is too hard to be eaten, except for the soft inner part.
   However, it can be finely sliced and added to recipes. It may also be
   bruised and added whole as this releases the aromatic oils from the
   juice sacs in the stalk. The main constituent of lemongrass oil is
   citral.

   Lemon grass is commonly used in teas, soups, and curries. It is also
   suitable for poultry, fish, and seafood. It is often used as a tea in
   African countries (e.g. Togo).

   East-Indian Lemon Grass (Cymbopogon flexuosus), also called Cochin
   Grass or Malabar Grass, is native to Cambodia, India, Sri Lanka,
   Burma,and Thailand while the West-Indian lemon grass (Cymbopogon
   citratus) is assumed to have its origins in Malaysia. While both can be
   used interchangeably, C. citratus is more suited for cooking. In India
   C. citratus is used both as a medical herb and in perfumes.
   Lemon grass at a market
   Enlarge
   Lemon grass at a market

   Citronella Grass (Cymbopogon nardus and Cymbopogon winterianus) is
   similar to the species above but grows to 2 m and has red base stems.
   These species are used for the production of citronella oil, which is
   used in soaps, as a mosquito repellent in insect sprays and candles,
   and also in aromatherapy, which is famous in Bintan, Indonesia. The
   principle chemical constituents of citronella, geraniol and
   citronellol, are antiseptics, hence their use in household
   disinfectants and soaps. Besides oil production, citronella grass is
   also used for culinary use, such as in tea.

   Palmarosa also called Rosha Grass and Indian Geranium (Cymbopogon
   martinii) is another species used in the perfume industry. It is a
   perennial clumping grass which grows to 150 cm with finer leaves and
   has a smaller bulbous base than the species above. The leaves and
   flower tops contain a sweet smelling oil which is used for the
   production of geraniol. It is also distilled into palmarosa oil and
   used in aromatherapy for its calming effect to help relieve nervous
   tension and stress.

   LemonGrass in some cases has been used as a mild Deppresent for the
   central nervous system. it also makes a good weed barrier

   One particular alpine grassland variant known as juzai is a staple of
   Kyrgyz, Dungan and Uyghur cooking.

Partial species list

     * Cymbopogon ambiguus Australian lemon-scented grass (native of
       Australia)
     * Cymbopogon bombycinus Silky Oilgrass (native of Australia)
     * Cymbopogon citratus Lemon Grass
     * Cymbopogon citriodora West Indian lemon grass
     * Cymbopogon flexuosus East Indian lemon grass
     * Cymbopogon martini
     * Cymbopogon nardus Citronella Grass
     * Cymbopogon obtectus Silky-heads (native of Australia)
     * Cymbopogon procerus (native of Australia)
     * Cymbopogon schoenanthus
     * Cymbopogon winterianus Citronella Grass

Trivia

     * MF Doom's Lemon Grass in his Special Herbs collection is an
       instrumental version of Doomsday, from Operation: Doomsday.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cymbopogon"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
