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Indian Rice Grass   -   [Oryzopsis hymenoides]

Native to western North America from east of the Cascades in British Columbia to Southern California and northeastern Mexico, this grass grows in clumps up to 24 inches tall and 12 inches wide. Seeds of this plant were a staple food for the American Indians, particularly when other crops failed. Today it is used mainly as a decorative in xeriscapes and in flower arrangements. Photo by U.S. Department of Agriculture = public domain.

Lemon Grass   -   [Fever Grass, Ta Khrai, Takrai (Thai); Xa, Sa chanh (Viet); Tanglad (Philippines); Zabalin (Burma); Si khai, Sing khai (Laos); Bai mak nao, Slek krey sabou, Kuel skey (Cambodia); Sera (Sri Lanka, India); Ghanda, Bhustrina (India); Serai (Malaysia); Sereh (Indonesia); Citronella (French); Cymbopogon citratus and to a lesser extent other Cymbopogon species (or subfamily Panicoideae)]

Lemon scented grasses native to Southeast Asia. C. citratus is essential to the cuisines of all of Southeast Asia, including the Philippines. It is also used in Sri Lanka, parts of southern China, and in the Caribbean, but is not used in cooking in India.

C. flexuosus, intensively grown in India, is mostly used for oils, perfumes and medicinals, though it can be used in cooking.

C. nardus is the industrial strength version, unpalatable to both people and livestock but distilled into citronella oils used as insect repellants, antiseptics and flavorings. It is grown as a decorative in Florida and California but is a serious and dificult to defeat invader of pasture land in Africa. Details and Cooking.

Sweet Grass   -   [Buffalo grass, Bison grass, Vanilla grass, Mary's grass, Seneca grass; Holy grass (UK); Hierochloe odorata]

Native though both North America and northern Eurasia, this grass is much liked by both the American Buffalo and the European Bison. Among humans it has been widely used in ceremonies - today particularly by American Indians as a purifying incense. Braids of sweet grass can be ordered from numerous emporiums supplying gear for pagan rituals and it is recommended for purifying rooms before ceremonies just as sage is used.

Sweet grass also finds considerable use for weaving baskets and for flavoring alcoholic beverages, particularly Polish Zubrówka Vodka. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has declared sweetgrass toxic and has banned import of Zubrówka except in an artificial version made with chemical flavorings, "for our protection".   Photo by Julia Adamson distributed under license Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike v3.0, attribution required.