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Chrysopogon aciculatus (Retz.)Trin.

Family	:	Poaceae/Gramineae
Local name	:	English- Love Grass Malayalam-Snehapullu
Flowering and fruiting period	:	June-October
Distribution	:	Tropical Asia and Australia
Distribution in kerala	:	All Districts
Habitat	:	Degraded dry and moist deciduous forests, also in the plains.
Uses	:	The plant is burnt with lalang and the ashes swallowed as a remedy for rheumatism, decoction of the roots is used to treat poisonous snake bites.  The “seeds” are used to expel intestinal roundworms.
Key Botanical Characters:  Perennials. Culms to 60 cm long, creeping and decumbent; nodes glabrous. Leaves 2-8 x 0.3-0.5 cm, lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, margin serrulate,. Sessile spikelets 3-4 mm long, lanceolate, aristate; lower glume 3-4 mm long, lanceolate, apex 2-dentate; upper glume 3-4 x 1 mm, lanceolate, 3-nerved, scabrid at the back; lower floret empty, epaleate; upper floret bisexual, paleate; first lemma c. 2.5 x 1 mm, obovate, acute, 2-keeled, margins ciliate; second lemma c. 2.5 x 1 mm, ovate-lanceolate, arista 3-5 mm long; palea 1.5-2 x 0.5 mm, oblong, hyaline; stamens 3; ovary c. 0.5 mm, oblong; stigmas 2 mm long, golden-yellow; caryopsis to 1.5 mm. Pedicelledspikelets 4-5 mm long, linear-lanceolate; pedicel 2.5-3 mm long; lower glume 4-5 x 1 mm, lanceolate, chartaceous; upper glume 4-5 x 1 mm, lanceolate, chartaceous, margins ciliate; lower floret empty; upper floret male, paleate; first lemma c. 3 x 1 mm, lanceolate, hyaline; second lemma 2-3 x 0.5-1 mm, lanceolate, margins ciliate; stamens 3, anthers 2 mm long.