810 



Andropogon tectomm, Sch. et, Thonn.; Fl. Trop- Afr. IX. 



p. 257. 



Vernac. name, — Damba (Hausa, Dalziel). 



Lagos, Yola (Dalziel, Herb. Kew) ; Obeyon, Ogunide (Holland^ 

 Herb. Kew), Sierra Leone, French Guinea. 



Used as fodder when young and for fencing when mature, 

 (Dalziel, I.e. p. 20-? A. tectomm) ; recommended for paper-making, 

 shipped as '' half-stuflf," Nigeria (Ball. Imp. Inst. 1921, p. 274). 



A tall grass, 6-10 ft. high, found in marshes (Dalziel 11. cc.); 

 8-20 ft. high; one of the commonest grasses of Sierra Leone, 

 sometimes covering many square miles (Scott Elliot, Smythe). 



Cymbopogon, Spreng. 



Cymbopogon citratus, Stapf\ FL Trop. Afr. IX. p. 282 



[Andropogon citratuSy DC. Cat, Hort. Monsp. p. 78]. 



Ill, — Rumpf, Herb. Amb. v. t- 72 {Schoenanthum amboinicum) ; 

 Kew Bull. 1906, p, 357 {Andropogon citratus); Hook. Ic. PL 

 t. 2826 (C. citratus); Hood, U.S. Dept. Agric. Bull. No. 442, 

 1917, pp. 2-4, ff. 1-3. 



Vernac, names, — There are numerous vernacular names 

 enumerated in Kew BuU, I.e. p. 358 (q.v,); but the grass is well 

 kno^^'n everywhere as Lemon Grass or Citronelle (French) [the 

 true " Citronella Grass " is G, Nardus, Rendle], and translations 

 of local names give Orange Grass, Perfume Grass, Camphor 

 Grass (I.e.). 



Old Calabar, Lagos and at probably all stations in Southern 

 Nigeria ; Gold Coast in French Guinea, Ivory Coast and Dahomey 

 (Chevaher, Bull. Soc. Nat. d'AccL France, 1912, p. 387); India, 

 Malaya, Phihppine Islands and under cultivation more or less 

 throughout the Tropics. 



An oil is obtained from the leaves used in perfumery. 

 Imports of oil come chiefly from Ceylon and Straits Settlements. 

 The value for *' Lemon Grass Oil " on the London Market 

 during 1920 varied from Id. to Is. 5d, per oz. (Perf. & Ess. Oil 

 Rec. Dec. 1920, p. 406) and in April 1921 — "average price on 

 spot 5d, per oz. with forward at 4|dl. c.Lf. (I.e. April 1921, p. 126). 



A perennial ; propagates readily by division of the roots, and 

 grows freely ; in well-drained good soil ; suitable for bordering walks 

 &c. Cultivated everjnvhere more or less for this purpose and for 

 decoration. It has been grown experimentally and the oil 

 produced in small quantities in Java, Tonkin, West Africa, 

 Brazil, Florida and the West Indies; but the production is 

 said to be inferior to East Indian '' Lemon-grass oil " {O. 

 flexuosus, Stapf) — the Malabar or Cochin Grass (Kew Bull, sea, 

 p. 334). 



In the Malay Peninsula — planted out 2 ft. X 3 ft. apart 

 (7260 to the acre), it is stated that the crop will be ready for 

 harvesting in the third year. The grass is put into the still with 

 as Httle delay as possible. In plantation-grown grass at least 

 two crops can be harvested in the season, so that, calculating on 



