400 Handbook of herbs and spices
24.1 Introduction
Lemongrass is a tropical perennial plant which yields aromatic oil. The name lemongrass
is derived from the typical lemon-like odour of the essential oil present in the shoot.
The lemongrass oil of commerce is popularly known as Cochin oil in world trade,
since 90% of it is shipped from Cochin port. The state of Kerala in India had the
monopoly in the production and export of lemongrass oil. The annual world production
of lemongrass oil is around 1000 t from an area of 16,000 ha. In India it is cultivated
in about 4000 ha and the annual production is around 250 t. The crop is extensively
cultivated in the poor, marginal and waste lands and also along the bunds as live
mulch. The well ramified root system of the plant helps in soil and water conservation.
24.2 Species and varieties......................................................................
Lemongrass belongs to the family Graminae (Poaceae) and the genus Cymbopogon.
Generally, three species are identified (Gupta, 1969; Chandra and Narayanan, 1971).
24.2.1 Cymbopogon flexuosus (Nees ex Steud) Wats. (2n = 20, 40)
It is known as East Indian, Cochin or Malabar grass. C. flexuosus is a tufted robust
perennial grass of about 2 m height. The leaves are linear and lanceolate. It flowers
freely. The inflorescence is very large and highly branched terminal drooping panicle
bearing paired spikes on tertiary branches. The spikes bear spikelets in pairs of which
one is sessile and the other pedicellate. The sessile spikelet is an awned bisexual
floret whereas the pedicellate is an awnless staminate floret. Under this species two
varieties or types are identified based on the colour of the stem.
C. flexuosus var. flexuosus (red grass)
The stem and leaf sheath are reddish or purple in colour. It is recognized as the true
24 Lemongrass...............................................................................................
B. P. Skaria, P. P. Joy, S. Mathew and G. Mathew, Aromatic and
Medicinal Plants Research Centre, India