Ctenium aromaticum

{{Short description|Species of grass}} {{Speciesbox |image = Ctenium aromaticum.jpg |status = G5 |status_system = TNC |status_ref = |genus = Ctenium |species = aromaticum |authority = (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.<ref name=gm>[http://herbarium.usu.edu/webmanual/info2.asp?name=Ctenium_aromaticum&type=treatment ''Ctenium aromaticum''.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518104203/http://herbarium.usu.edu/webmanual/info2.asp?name=Ctenium_aromaticum&type=treatment |date=2015-05-18 }} Grass Manual Treatment.</ref>

This is a perennial grass that forms clumps of stems reaching {{convert|1|to|1.5|m|sp=us}} in maximum height. The leaves are up to {{convert|46|cm|sp=us}} long. The inflorescence is a panicle with one branch that is up to {{convert|15|cm|sp=us}} long and lined on one side with two rows of spikelets. Each spikelet is roughly {{convert|1|cm|sp=us}} long.<ref name=gm/>

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.<ref name=austin>Austin, D. F. and P. N. Ionychurch. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=7qgPCEiI4WMC&dq=ctenium+aromaticum&pg=PA404 Florida Ethnobotany.]'' CRC Press 2004.</ref> The lower part of the stem produces a numbing sensation when it is chewed.<ref name=usda>[https://plants.usda.gov/factsheet/pdf/fs_ctar.pdf ''Ctenium aromaticum''.] USDA NRCS Plant Fact Sheet.</ref> The agents responsible for this action are isobutylamides.<ref name=gamboa>Gamboa-Leon, R. and W. S. Chilton. (2000). [http://elmu.umm.ac.id/file.php/1/jurnal/B/Biochemical%20Systematics%20and%20Ecology/Vol28.Issue10.Dec2000/752.pdf Isobutylamide numbing agents of toothache grass, ''Ctenium aromaticum''.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518083010/http://elmu.umm.ac.id/file.php/1/jurnal/B/Biochemical%20Systematics%20and%20Ecology/Vol28.Issue10.Dec2000/752.pdf |date=2015-05-18 }} ''Biochemical Systematics and Ecology'' 28 1019-1021.</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *[https://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=CTAR USDA Plants Profile] *[https://archive.today/20130415115058/http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Ctenium+aromaticum NatureServe]

Category:Chloridoideae