Lemon Grass Varieties
Answered by: Conrad Richter
Question from: Aran Nathanson
Posted on: August 9, 1999

I would like to know if you have lemon grass seeds (Cymbopogon citratus) - I live in Italy and ordering plants is not practical. Also, is East Indian lemon grass (Cymbopogon flexuosus) a substitute for Cymbopogon citratus in cooking?

As far as we know, Cymbopogon citratus does not produce seeds. It is propagated exclusively by cuttings. We could arrange to ship cuttings to Italy in bulk if you are looking to grow large numbers of plants, otherwise the only option is potted plants.

The East Indian variety (C. flexuosus) is not used in the same way as C. citratus. It does not have the same fleshy stem as C. citratus. It can. howvever, be used for tea the same way as C. citratus. The main use of the variety is for oil production.

We have good supplies of seeds of the East Indian variety.

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