Hierochloe occidentalis, Vanilla Grass

Vanilla Grass is an interesting and elegant grass native to coniferous forests. Also known as buffalo grass, or sweetgrass, this aromatic herb is used in herbal medicine. It owes its distinctive sweet scent to the presence of coumarin. A very hardy perennial native to North America, the broad, bright green, sweetly scented blades grow a foot or two tall. Flowering culms rise another 6 inches or so above the foliage with tight panicles of spikelets. The leaves offer a sweet, vanilla fragrance when dried.

Best with some summer water but is drought tolerant near the coast. An excellent choice for woodland gardens, compatible with many redwood forest plants. Prefers soil high in organic matter. It is also a larval host for the Western Branded Skipper Butterfly. Deer resistant.