Common Name(s): Cymbopogon citratum.

Latin Name: Cymbopogon citratus

Plant Part: The lower portion of the stalk

Common Uses:  Infuse in oil and use the oil in your balms and other creations. Sprinkle on soap for decoration.  Add to soap for a gentle exfolation (it will brown over time).  

Precautions: Take care to store lemon grass away from other foods and spices, as they make pick up its aroma. None known for external applications.

Constituents: 

The essential oil of lemon grass (0.2 to 0.5%, "West Indian lemon grass oil") consists mainly of citral. The herb also contains myrcene, nerol, limonene, linalool and beta-caryophyllene; the compounds make the essential oil subject to "curdling" when exposed to the air.