Vetiver roots go straight down to hold soil in place.The above-ground plant looks much like pampas grass or lemon grass. It is a big, coarse clumping grass that can grow to be very tall. It provides a considerable amount of biomass that can be used for mulching or composting.
Vetiver smells dry, earthy, woody, leathery and smoky. Think of uncut grass on a warm day and you'll have a rough idea of what vetiver smells like. Vetiver is sometimes referred to as the “Oil of Tranquility” or “The Fragrance of the Soil” for its calming effects.
Vetiver is a hardy plant that can tolerate extreme conditions like poor soil, drought, deep water flow and waterlogging.
Vetiver essential oil is distilled from the vetiver plant's roots, which are aged before being soaked in water. The highly concentrated oil that is released is then skimmed off the top of the water.
Being a member of the Grass Family, Vetiver is pretty easy to grow here in Florida, so I have enjoyed growing it, harvesting it, and sharing it with friends!
Vetiver is sometimes applied directly to the skin for relieving stress, as well as for emotional traumas and shock, lice, and repelling insects. It is also used for arthritis, stings, and burns. Vetiver is sometimes inhaled as aromatherapy for nervousness, insomnia, and joint and muscle pain.
Varieties and Cultivars:- there are 12 known species and may be hundred different cultivars that exhibit distinctive phenotypic which can be exploited by users depending on need. Widely used varieties are: Veriver zizanioides (Asia sub- continent) Vetiver nigratana ( Southern Africa)
The four common ways to propagate vetiver are: Splitting mature tillers from vetiver clump or mother plants, that yields bare root slips for immediate planting or propagating in polybags. Using various parts of a mother vetiver plant. Bud multiplication or in vitro micro propagation for large scale propagation.
in india, it is seen growing wild throughout Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Assam. it is systematically cultivated as a crop in the states of Page 10 Cultivation of Vetiver DMAPR, Boriavi 9 rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. Anually 20-25 tonnes of oil is produced in india.
It is also very easy to control the spread of vetiver grass as it propagates by root division or slips and is easily removed when no longer required [4]. Currently the extraction of vetiver oil is mostly done using conventional methods such as hydrodistillation, steam distillation and solvent extraction [5].
Lavancha/Khus/Vetiver is uased for Skin Disorders, improves skin complexion.
How to Make Vetiver Water (Khus Water) from Vetiver Roots!
- This is dried vetiver root and you can get it very easily anywhere in India.
- Take a clay pot, wash it and place the vetiver bundle inside the pot.
- Fill the pot with boiled, cooled water.
- After 3 to 4 hrs, slice a lemon into thin slices and add them to the pot.
Here's the ideal way to use them – in an earthen pot, add clean drinking water, and place the vetiver roots inside. Cover and let the roots steep into the water for a few hours. Strain, and then drink up.
