Lemon grass
Cymbopogon citratus
A tall, dense tussock grass forming a fan of tightly packed, swollen stem bases topped by arching grey-green blades to about 1.5 m. Every part smells sharply of lemon when bruised. In Britain it is a tender pot or greenhouse plant rather than a wild find: the soft lower stem is used in cooking, the tough blades steeped for tea.
Native to tropical Asia and not naturalised in Britain or Ireland, where frost kills it outright. Grown in pots, polytunnels and heated greenhouses in free-draining compost, kept under cover from autumn until the last frosts have passed.
No known toxicity as a food or tea, though the blades are too fibrous to swallow and are steeped or lifted out after cooking. The leaf margins are finely toothed and will cut fingers drawn along them, so cut stems rather than strip them by hand. Concentrated lemongrass oil can irritate the skin.
Always use more than one reference to confirm a plant. You are responsible for what you choose to forage.
Growth form
A dense, non-spreading clump rather than a running grass, with no creeping rhizomes. Stems rise from a tight basal fan, so the whole plant sits as one tussock.
Leaf blade
Grey-green, 1–2 cm wide, with a prominent pale midrib and a long drooping tip. Run a finger down the edge and it is rough — the margins are minutely toothed.
Stem base
The lower 10–15 cm is swollen, white to pale purple and layered like a small leek. Only this section is tender enough to slice; above it the stem turns woody.
Scent
A crushed blade or freshly cut base gives a strong, clean lemon smell from citral. A grass clump without that scent is not lemon grass, whatever the leaves look like.
Updated 2026-08-07T20:46:10.069Z · Part of the shared Foragers Log catalogue · Herb