Lemongrass has a fresh, light, lemony flavor and scent that is a staple in many ethnic cuisines, including Thai, Vietnamese, and Indonesian. It's also used in hair and skin care products and for scenting perfumes and room sprays. Lemongrass tea is perhaps the most popular use of lemongrass herb. It's delicious hot and cold, and it combines well with many other herbs in herbal tea blends.

Lemongrass, also known as Cymbogon citratus, has medicinal qualities including usefulness as an antispasmodic, hypotensive support, and antitussive action.*

One of the American traditions that embraced the use of lemongrass is that of "Hoodoo" or "Vodoun." Practiced by former slaves in the southeastern United States, this folk system was based on West African magical and medicinal herbalism. Included as one of the powerful hoodoo grasses, lemongrass was used in many ways, including in cleansing preparations and purification rituals. Lemongrass is also traditionally used in formulas for opening the vision or making one more receptive to spiritual messages.