Recipe for December

Lemon grass Cymbopogon flexuosus / Cymbopogon citratus
Lemongrass is a perennial herb. The plant grows in dense clumps up to 2 meters in diameter and has leaves up to 1 meter long. The lemongrasses are cultivated commercially in Guatemala, India, the People's Republic of China, Paraguay and Sri Lanka. The plants need a warm, humid climate in full sun. Lemon grass grows well in sandy soils with adequate drainage. The propagation is by root or plant division.

The plants are harvested mechanically or by hand about four times each year with the productive populations lasting between four and eight years. Extensive breeding programs have developed many varieties of lemongrass. The quality of lemongrass oil is generally determined by the content of citral, the aldehyde responsible for the lemon odor.