Ctenium aromaticum

Ctenium aromaticum
Conservation status

Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Monocots
(unranked): Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Genus: Ctenium
Species: C. aromaticum
Binomial name
Ctenium aromaticum
(Walter) Alph.Wood

Ctenium aromaticum is a species of grass known by the common name toothache grass. It is native to the southeastern United States, where it grows on the coastal plain.[1]

This is a perennial grass that forms clumps of stems reaching 1 to 1.5 meters in maximum height. The leaves are up to 46 centimeters long. The inflorescence is a panicle with one branch that is up to 15 centimeters long and lined on one side with two rows of spikelets. Each spikelet is roughly a centimeter long.[1]

It is not known whether or not the grass was ever used as a remedy for toothache. It has, however, been used as a sialagogue, an agent that increases saliva. The crushed roots have a strong scent.[2] The lower part of the stem produces a numbing sensation when it is chewed.[3] The agents responsible for this action are isobutylamides.[4]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Ctenium aromaticum. Grass Manual Treatment.
  2. Austin, D. F. and P. N. Ionychurch. Florida Ethnobotany. CRC Press 2004.
  3. Ctenium aromaticum. USDA NRCS Plant Fact Sheet.
  4. Gamboa-Leon, R. and W. S. Chilton. (2000). Isobutylamide numbing agents of toothache grass, Ctenium aromaticum. Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 28 1019-1021.

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