I have been looking for Palma Rosa and Citronella grass for a long time...My grandma had it in her garden cuz we burn it for air freshner on the patio when I was a kid...Does anyone out there know where I can get them both?
I have gingers,cannas,plumeria babies to trade with..
Wanted: Palma Rosa and Citronella Grass
Do you mean the lemon grass from Thailand? If not, could I interest you in a division? They have overwintered indoors very easily for me in the past, but must keep out of cats' grazing (seems not to hurt them). In cooking, the leaves are crushed and sauteed briefly in oil just long to infuse oil with flavor and then discarded. Also nice in tea.
In any event, would you like to trade or do SASE for a ginger? Do you have that white, fragrant kind? (I think Hedychium coronarium) other kind would be welcome, though.
Thank you for any consideration.
I have the Lemon grass here..two diffrent kinds...I will check and see if I can dig up the white ginger ...this weekend..okay...
Would you like
cuttings of any sages? white dbl impatiens? tithonia? cascading torenia (purple and a blue)? that very shade tolerant, silvery Plectranthus coleioides? herbs?
seeds of beautiful, night flowering, monster gourd that conquered our yew hedge and magnolia? Lobelia cardinalis seed?
other?
thankx, Moodene
Moodene or bluespiral,
Can I ask you what in the world is Palma Rosa?
Robin
NatureWalker, it is a fragrant grass..Smells like lemon peel and rose Geranium together..I found a website that has plants...yea....
Oh, this is the one I have in a large flower pot:
Lemon Grass (Cymbopogon citratus)
http://davesgarden.com/pdb/go/283
Where'd you find it at Moodene?
This message was edited Sep 23, 2004 12:45 AM
Moodene,
Thanks for the Palma Rosa link.
I know that people eat geraniums. But never heard of that kind of grass.
It sounds very interesting. Not just ornamental, but herbal & edible too.
Double my pleasure!
No problemo...glad to help ya out...I had made braided grass logs to burn when I was a kid growing up...just want to bring back memories of what my grandma taught me..I do use lemon and vanilla grass but would like to use the ones above that I mention as well...
Moodene, Your reference to your grandmother burning sweet grass logs reminded me of my DH talking about this custom among Native Americans of the plains. Did your grandmother give you any lore or background about what she knew about sweet grass? This is just the thing that people welcome on Darius’ thread “My Grandmother’s Apron” in the Jokes and Chat forum. I hope you won’t mind my sharing some background about Native American use of sweet grass (Torresia odorata) as related by DH.
In the Lakota Hunka ceremony - sweet grass (wacanga) would sometimes have been attached as a braid to the handle of a gourd rattle (See (2) below for source of photo), which when rattled would attract good spirits and repel bad spirits.
The Hunka ceremony was a kind of adoption ceremony. As explained by the Lakota, Bad Wound, “Kola [friend], go to his teepee. Take with you the pipe (handing them a pipe) and this Cansasa (dried willow bark [which probably was red twigged dogwood]) (handing it to one of the friends) and this Wacanga (sweet grass) (handing it to another) and tell him I have chosen him to be my Ate [father]...If he accepts, then he and the friends smoke the willow bark and burn the wacanga and smell it and their hearts are made good.” (See (3) below.)
The Crow burned sweet grass as incense in the purification of sacred objects that were pleasing to the spirits. For example, in a painting entitled “Purifying the Shield”, by Bill Holm, a shield is being held over smoke from sweet grass burning on a lighted buffalo chip. The smudge from the smoke consecrated the shield. (See (1) below.)
The Cheyenne burned sweet grass (Vih'o ots) in combination with other substances such as a lichen (Evernia vulpina), horsetail (Equisetum arvense), and a fungus (Melampsorella elatina) in healing ceremonies. They also wrapped sweet grass up in things they wanted to perfume. (See (4) below.)
(1) Sun Dogs and Eagle Down, The Indian Paintings of Bill Holm, by Brown and Averrill. This book is in our library, so either it’s in your library, or they could order it for you.
(2) American Indian Art magazine, Autumn 2004 issue, “Waving Horse Tails over Each Other”, by Emil Her Many Horses. This is a very well written and illustrated article beginning on page 72. The entire issue, available now in newstands, is dedicated to the National Museum of the American Indian located in Washington, DC, which just opened last Tuesday, 9/21/04.
(3) Lakota Belief and Ritual by James R. Walker (available from the U of Nebraska Press)
(4) The Cheyenne Indians, by George Bird Grinnell (DH thinks may be back in print.)
Moodene, you have email.
Well..It has to do with getting the bad spirits out of your house.or getting any negative icons or demons or bad directions into the postive side of anything ya want to do in life...and depends on whether there is a baby coming into the family then the grass is burned for it to come into the postive side of the life..or when it is marriage..then ya want the couple to be happy for themselves...it depends on what the situtation is ..for the grass to be use as...
I am Commache on my grandma's side who's mother was full blooded....
When I had a stroke at 32 years of age..I lost most of my knowledge as a child remembering the things my grandma and I did...but I am still learning about stuff everyday that we take for granted...I am now 48 and still like a child learning and growing all over again....
Bluespiral, thank you so much for that informative post and the links to the books. I'm a big book person and love learning something new every day. Our library will do a search and locate the book for me. Great service.
Richters has the seeds for the palma rosa. . Here is a link.
http://www.richters.com/Web_store/web_store.cgi