Anthoxanthum odoratum

Anthoxanthum odoratum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Monocots
(unranked):	Commelinids
Order:	Poales
Family:	Poaceae
Genus:	Anthoxanthum
Species:	A. odoratum
Binomial name
	Anthoxanthum odoratum; L.

Anthoxanthum odoratum, also known as sweet vernal grass, holy grass, vanilla grass, or buffalo grass, is a short-lived perennial grass found wild in acidic grassland in Eurasia. It is also grown as a lawn grass and a house plant, due to its sweet scent, and can also be found on unimproved pastures and meadows. 'Odoratum' is Latin for 'odorous'.

It avoids very dry or waterlogged soil.

Identification

This grass grows in tufts. It can grow up to 100 cm (39 in) tall.

The stems are 25–40 cm (9.8–15.7 in) tall, with short but broad green leaves 3–5 mm (0.12–0.20 in) wide, which are slightly hairy. It flowers from April until June, i.e. quite early in the season, with flower spikes of 4–6 centimetres (1.6–2.4 in) long and crowded spikelets of 6–10 mm (0.24–0.39 in), oblong shaped, which can be quite dark when young. The lower lemmas have projecting awns.

The ligules are quite long, up to 5 mm (0.20 in), blunt, with hairy fringes around the side.

The scent is particularly strong when dried, and is due to coumarin, a glycoside, and benzoic acid – it smells like fresh hay with a hint of vanilla. The seed head is bright yellow in color.^[1]

Cultivation

It is grown by scattering seed on tilled ground in the spring through fall, germinating in 4 to 5 days. It prefers sandy loam and acidic conditions (a low pH).

As an agricultural grass it has a low yield, but can grow on land too acidic for other grasses.