Sweetgrass Braids (4 - 5")

The Sweetness of Sweetgrass. Sweetgrass is native to Europe and North America. It's a lightly-scented perennial herb with a mild, sweet, delicately grassy, nutty aroma with a hint of vanilla to its pleasant fragrance profile. It also goes by the names "vanilla grass," "holy Grass," and "Seneca grass." Sweetgrass has many uses. The main ingredient is coumarin, an aromatic organic compound which is noted for its vanilla-like, sweet and bitter flavor. Sweetgrass can be chewed on for health benefits or used to make teas. The grassy stems and leaves are often fashioned into long braids and used as an incense for smudging. In some parts of Europe the braids are placed across church and home doorways to honor saints. In North America, aboriginal peoples see sweetgrass as a sacred and ceremonial herb. The herb is burned and used for smudging during purification, offering and holy ceremonies and used extensively to weave baskets. Sweetgrass is also sometimes c