Elumichai pullu (Cymbopogon citratus)

Elumichai pullu is Cymbopogon citratus, West Indian lemongrass — the clump whose swollen, lemon-scented base Tamil and Thai kitchens bruise into a pot. It is not East Indian lemongrass (Cymbopogon flexuosus), the citral oil crop, and it is not citronella (C. nardus / C. winterianus). Three grasses, three jobs, one supermarket word.

Botanical name: Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf
Family: Poaceae
Tamil: Elumichai pullu
Hindi: Lemon ghaas
Sanskrit: Bhūtṛṇa
Parts used: Culm bases and leaves, Essential oil
Habit: Clumping tropical grass with a lemon-scented swollen base
Last updated: 2026-10-30

How to recognise Elumichai pullu

Stapf published the combination. The family is Poaceae. It is a dense perennial clump with wide, sharp-edged leaves and a thickened, pale, highly lemon-scented culm base. It rarely sets seed in cultivation; people split the clump.

The kitchen article is the fresh base, bruised or sliced. Dried leaf tea is a weaker, still honest object if it is this species. Oil is a third, much stronger article.

Tamil elumichai pullu (“lemon grass”) is transparent. Hindi often just says lemon ghaas. Sanskrit bhūtṛṇa is used in lists for more than one fragrant grass — another reason to write Cymbopogon citratus on a label.

C. flexuosus (East Indian, jammu or Cochin lemongrass) is the usual distillation crop for citral. C. nardus and C. winterianus are citronella, a mosquito-coil smell. A bottle that only says lemongrass oil has not named the species.

Vetiver (Chrysopogon zizanioides) is a different fragrant grass whose useful part is the root. Do not let “fragrant Indian grass” collapse them.

Kew accepts C. citratus. A clump by a kitchen drain in Chennai and a Thai market bundle can be the same plant.

The leaf is long, keeled and sharp enough to cut a knuckle when you strip it. Cooks bruise the pale base and often discard the dry tops. That kitchen habit is a determination: if there is no lemon-scented swelling at the base, you may have a different grass.

Traditional use of Elumichai pullu

South and Southeast Asian food

The bruised base is a flavouring.

Tamil, Thai and wider kitchen practice

Household tea

Leaf boiled as a lemon tea is ordinary. A tea is not an oil, and it is not a treatment claim.

Household practice

Modern notes on Elumichai pullu

Citral chemistry is why the grass smells of lemon peel and why oils irritate skin. A soup base and a citral isolate are not the same object.

The practical modern issue is the three-species English collapse and oils sold for “food” that are not food-grade.

Elumichai pullu safety

Culinary base in food and a mild leaf tea are the ordinary exposures. Essential oil is not a soup.

Oil can irritate skin and mucous membranes. Do not put it in a child’s mouth or nostril. The leaf edges cut fingers — a kitchen fact.

Pregnant people should not start oil regimes from a tea story.

Ecology and sourcing

It is a split-clump crop. Nobody needs to strip a hillside for a soup grass.

Related plants

Also in Poaceae

Questions about Elumichai pullu

Is Elumichai pullu the same as citronella?

No. Citronella is usually Cymbopogon nardus or C. winterianus. C. citratus is the kitchen lemongrass.

What is the Tamil name of Cymbopogon citratus?

Elumichai pullu.

Sources

Educational page about a plant. It is not medical advice, not a diagnosis, and not an offer to sell. Traditional use is historical. If you need care, ask a licensed clinician. Questions: hello@meevamed.com.