The vermilion limonum , or the West-Indian limono sorghum ( Latin Cymbopogon citratus ) is a herbaceous plant; species of the genus Cymbopogon of the Cereals family [2] .
| Lemon beard |
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| Grade: | Monocotyledonous [1] |
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Cymbopogon citratus ( DC. ) Stapf |
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Andropogon citratus DC. |
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Known as a cultivated plant in Southeast Asia , in the tropical and subtropical zones of Africa and America .
Lemongrass beard is a perennial herbaceous plant that forms dense turfs. The rhizome is short white or light purple. The stem is a high straw .
The leaves are linear, 3-10 mm wide, pubescent on both sides, with a sheath , the edge of the leaf is sharp.
The inflorescence is complex of spike-like branches at the top of the stem, gray-white. Each spike consists of numerous small spikelets . The flowers are small, inconspicuous. It blooms from March to April.
Fruits - small elongated grains .
The plants contain essential oil , the main part of which is citral . In addition, limonene , isopulgenol, citronelic and geranic acids, Ξ±-camphonen were found [3] .
Lemon beard is used in cooking and in medicine. In cooking, it is used as a spice to add to fish and meat dishes, as well as soups and sauces, which is part of many Indian spicy mixtures. From dried leaves, you can make tea, or add them as a flavor.
In folk medicine, they use nodules of dianthus with diarrhea , flatulence, and as a diuretic . Also used for cough, inflammatory diseases of the respiratory tract. Essential oil is used for the common cold and as a diaphoretic. Also use it to prepare cream from mosquitoes [3] .
