Inchigrass Oil

#### Inchigrass Oil. From a species of the south Indian grass **Cymbopogon**, closely related to palmarosa- and ginger- grass (see monographs), an essential oil is produced locally by primitive steam distillation. Most of the local Hindi or Sanskritic names for the grass mean "gingergrass", referring to the fact that the fresh green grass produces a ginger(root)-like odor when rubbed between the fingers. It is interesting to note that the leaves of the gingerplant smell fresh, lemony, citronella-verbena- like when rubbed between the fingers. The two grasses are not botanically related. The yield of oil is fair, almost equal to the yield from Java- citronella grass. **Inchigrass Oil **is a pale yellow or pale amber colored liquid of fresh, sweet citronella-palmarosa-like odor with a tealeaf-like, rich herbaceous undertone. The latter note is quite predominant, or even unpleasant, in certain lots of the oil. These types of inchigrass oil have some resemblance to perilla oil in respect to odor. There are a number of varieties of the plant, all growing in the southern parts of India, and various types of **Inchigrass Oil **have been offered. The more camphoraceous-bitter smelling oils would certainly be less popular in the case that **Inchigrass Oil **should become commonly available on the European and American markets. Inchigrass oil is used locally for the scenting of soaps and detergents, household articles, etc. Only very occasionally it reaches the outside markets; accordingly, it has not found any place in American or European perfumery. The oil might serve as a modifier along with palmarosa oil, citronella, lemongrass, eucalyptus staigeriana, eucalyptus citriodora, leptospermum citratum and other soap perfume materials of the "fresh-lemony" type. See also **Cymbopogon**** ****Connatus**.