LEMON GRASS, Camel's hay ; Sweet rush.
Ask'hur, . . . . ARAB. Malatrinakam, . SaNsE. Gundho-bcna, BENG., Gus. Kamachi-pillu, . . Tam. Gund-bol, Olacha, . HIND. wassina-pillu, . . „ Siri, JAW. Casatum-pillu, . . „ Gowr•gah, . . ;PERS. 1 Kamachi kasuvu, . TEL.
The English name is given to Andropogon citratum, A. schcenanthus, and other allied species, sweet-smelling, bitterish, aromatic grasses, having long, striated, scabrous leaves. They furnish by distillation the fragrant essential oils called lemon-grass oil and citronelle oil. The grasses are frequently substituted for tea, and the white succulent centre of the leaf-bearing culms is often put into curries to give them an agreeable flavour. The plants are cultivated in gardens, but grow wild, and large tracts of waste land in India and Ceylon are covered with them. They flourish in any good soil, are propagated by slips from the root, and only require watering. A. schcenanthus is cultivated all over the Tenasserim provinces, and a decoction made from the leaves is deemed of much efficacy in colic and similar complaints.
Lemon-grass oil.
Camachie pillatylum,Tam. I Camachi kasavu yennai, TEL.
This oil is obtained by distillation from the Andropogon schcenanthus grass. It is much used as a rubefacieut for rheumatic affections, as well as in perfumery, for which purposes it is said to be largely exported from Travancore and Ceylon. When newly made it is of a light straw colour, but ago changes it to a deep red. Another oil, also called lemon-grass oil, or citronelle, is the produce of Andropogon citratum, and is made in Travancore and Ceylon. In Madura are three grasses, named Poathapil, Seegompil, and Comat chipil. To make the oil, the grass is cut in pieces a span long (the little roots excepted), and the pieces are put into earthen pans. Their subse quent exposure to the warmth of fire extracts the oil.—Riddell; Mason.