Sweetgrass

Description

Sweet Grass Buffalo Grass (Hierochloe odorata) has a sweet, long-lasting aroma that is even stronger when the grass has been harvested and dried and is then moistened or burned.  Other common names for Sweetgrass are Holy Grass (or Mary’s Grass), Vanilla Grass, Bluejoint, Buffalo Grass, and Zebrovka.

Many Native tribes in North America use sweetgrass in prayer, smudging or purifying ceremonies and consider it a sacred plant. It is usually braided, dried, and burned. Sweetgrass braids smolder and do not produce an open flame when burned. Just as the sweet scent of this natural grass is attractive and pleasing to people, so is it attractive to good spirits. Sweetgrass is often burned at the beginning of a prayer or ceremony to attract positive energies.