Skip to main content

Lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus)

Serai or lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus) is a plant species in Poaceae, a shrub that has large fibrous roots and short rhizomes, pseudo stems that are soft and break easily even though they are stiff, hollow, rooted, clustered and often used as spices and essential oils.

C. citratus has a pseudo stem, 60-200 cm tall, yellowish white as a tuber midrib, has short hair and grows straight above the ground. The stem produces shoots where the root fibers have stolons that spread horizontally below the surface of the soil.

Dlium Lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus)

Stems frond and dull greenish white. Single leaf ribbon-shaped, not stemmed, length 50-100 cm, width 2 cm, bright green, pointed tip, bone in the middle of the linear and the rough surface of the upper and lower surface smooth hair.

Squeezed leaves emit a fragrant aroma that is almost like the scent of orange. Flowers contain ears and have no crown. The stems are used as spices to scent food and are processed into essential oils to repel mosquitoes and other insects.

Essential oils from lemon grass are citral, citronellol, beta-pinen, kamfen, sabinen, mirsen, p-felandren, psimen, limonene, cis-osimen, terpinol, citronellal, borneol, terpinen-4-ol, alpha-terpineol, geraniol, farnesol, methyl heptenone, n-desialdehyde, dipentene, methyl heptenone, bornilasetate, geranilformate, terpinyl acetate, sitronelil acetate, geranil acetate and beta-karyophilene oxide.

Citronellal, citronellol and geraniol determine the intensity of fragrant aromas, the value and price of oil. The phytochemical content of lemongrass is tannins, flavonoids, phenols and carbohydrates. The active component has anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, antibacterial, deodorant, expectorant, insecticide and sedative abilities.



Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Panicoideae
Tribe: Andropogoneae
Genus: Cymbopogon
Species: Cymbopogon citratus

Popular Posts

Kunu buti (Mesosphaerum suaveolens)

Kunu buti ( Mesosphaerum suaveolens ) is a species of plant in the Lamiaceae family. It is an erect, herbaceous annual, growing up to 1.5 meters tall. Its cylindrical, rough, brown or green stem is hairy and white. It grows on forest floors, bushes, agricultural fields, and roadsides. Its roots are fibrous and brownish-yellow. M. suaveolens has single, opposite leaves, stalks 2-5 cm long and hairy. The leaf blades are green, hairy, oval, with pointed tips, blunt bases, serrated edges, up to 6 cm long, up to 5 cm wide, and pinnate veins. The flowers are compound, axillary, in clusters, perfect, and bisexual. The petals are attached, forming a tube, each tip elongated like a spine, soft, 3-10 mm long, and green. The corolla is attached, asymmetrically detached, 1-2 cm long, and purple. The fruit is single, hard, capsule-shaped, hairy on the surface, and green or brown in color. The seeds are round, small and blackish brown in color. TAXON Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphyl...

Brazilian vervain (Verbena brasiliensis)

Brazilian vervain ( Verbena brasiliensis ) is a species of plant in the Verbenaceae, an annual shrub with erect stems, up to 1 meter high, triangular or semi-spherical in shape with sharp corners, green, white-haired, lower branches in an opposite arrangement, branches above grows in an irregular formation. V. brasiliensis has elongated leaves, up to 20 cm long, up to 4 cm wide, sharp tip, deeply serrated or flat margins, dark green in color, a main vein in the middle and whitish in color, several minor veins laterally, rough and stiff surface. Inflorescences in panicles at the end of a long stalk up to 5 cm long. The flower petals are 3 mm long, 5 lobed and tubular in shape. The corolla is formed from fused petals and spreads open at the tip, only slightly longer than the calyx. Flowers have reproductive organs of both sexes. Superior and bicarpellary ovaries. The fruit is a schizocarp or dried fruit that splits when ripe. Wrapped in petals. Nutlets are triangular in cross-sec...

Chameleon forest dragon (Gonocephalus chamaeleontinus)

Bunglon hutan or chameleon anglehead lizard or chameleon forest dragon ( Gonocephalus chamaeleontinus ) is an animal species in Agamidae, having a larger size than other species, the most unique head shape and has the ability to change color by changing mood rather than for camouflage. Morphology G. chamaeleontinus has a total length of 40 cm, the muzzle to the buttocks is 16 cm, the base color is green with orange, yellow to brownish spots and sexual dimorphism. The eyes are protected by a movable eyelid surrounded by a slightly darker color, while males have a bright blue color around the eyes. Short head with a triangle and thorns above the eyes. Medium-sized head scales, vary, smooth and have a little tubercle that extends above the ear. Heterodont teeth with acrodont type and dorsal tongue are covered by reticular papillae. The upper labial scale consists of 10-12 units and the lower labial scale consists of 11-14 units. Dorsal body scales are composed of small and fine ...