Vetiver Lore

Vetiveria zizanioides

Also, Known As:

Vetiver (botanical name Vetiveria zizanioides) belongs to the grass family, which also includes sorghum, maize, sugarcane as well as lemongrass. This plant has had an irregular history, as it was given no less than 11 names in four dissimilar genera at one time. The generic name ‘Vitiveria’ is derived from the Tamil expression ‘vetiver’ denoting a ‘dug up root’, while the Swedish taxonomist Carolus Linnaeus gave the plant its specific name ‘zizanioides’, which is occasionally spelled wrongly, in 1771. The word ‘zizanioides’ refers to ‘beside the river’ and mirrors the fact that this plant is generally found growing the length of the water bodies, especially in India.

Belonging to the Poaceae family, vetiver is a perennially growing grass that is indigenous to India. It is also known as ‘khus’ in the northern and western regions of India. This grass has tall stems while the leaves are…