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Cymbopogon citratus
Also called West Indian Lemongrass, Lemongrass
In Singapore: Lemongrass, Serai, West Indian Lemon Grass, Oil Grass, Fever Grass, Serai Makan, Sereh Makan, 柠檬草, 柠檬香茅, 香茅草
Lemon grass is a tropical perennial grass whose fragrant stalks and leaves are used in cooking and tea. It needs warmth, full sun and steady moisture, and it is not frost hardy.
Cymbopogon citratus, commonly known as West Indian lemon grass or simply lemon grass, is a tropical plant native to South Asia and Maritime Southeast Asia and introduced to many tropical regions.
Cymbopogon citratus is often sold in stem form. While it can be grown in warmer temperate regions, it is not hardy to frost.
Cymbopogon citratus is native to South Asia and Maritime Southeast Asia (Malesia). After World War I, lemongrass was introduced to Madagascar, South America, and Central America. It has now been naturalized throughout the tropics and subtropics worldwide.
Cymbopogon citratus is abundant in the Philippines and Indonesia where it is known as tanglad or sereh, respectively. Its fragrant leaves are traditionally used in cooking, particularly for lechon and roasted chicken.
Citronella Grass · Rosha grass · Citronella grass · Cymbopogon grass · Lemon grass
[Contains information from Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Heritage Trees from data.gov.sg (National Parks Board), made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0]
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Cymbopogon citratus by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.
