Sweet Grass

Other names

Vanilla Grass, Holy Grass

Growth habit

Grass/Sedge

Perennation

Long-lived polycarpic perennial

Native distribution

Circumboreal South to NJ, OH, IA and AZ

Biocultural value

Dried foliage releases a sweet vanilla scent. Long blades can be braided and burned as incense and also made into sweet grass baskets.

Location

Robison Herb Garden

Source of plant

Prairie Moon Nursery

Description

Vigorously spreading deciduous perennial grass with far-reaching white rhizomes, which form compact tufts growing up to 20". Leaves aromatic when bruised; early-blooming, the inflorescence being produced from March to May.

USDA Hardiness Zone

5

Special characteristics

fragrance, flowering season, fiber, other ethnobotanical uses