Cochin Grass also known as East-Indian lemon grass or Malabar grass, is a perennial grass native to India, Sri Lanka, Burma, and Thailand. It is placed in the genus Cymbopogon(lemongrasses).

It is a perennial grass arising from a short stout rhizome. Culms (stems) are robust, up to 3 m tall, 1-2 cm in diameter. Leaf sheaths are hairless, ears often present. Leaves are linear, up to 1 m long, 1.5 cm wide, rough, base gradually narrowed, tip threadlike. Ligules are 2-5 mm. Flowers are borne in very large, lax, compound panicles grayish green, up to 60 cm or more, nodes bearded, branches numerous, drooping. Spatheoles are 1-2 cm; racemes 1-1.7 cm. Stalkless spikelets are narrowly elliptic-oblong, 4-4.5 x 0.8-1 mm. Lower glume flat or shallowly concave, usually slightly transversely wrinkled, sharply 2-keeled throughout, keels narrowly winged, wings 0.1 mm wide or less, obscurely 3-veined between keels; upper lemma awned; awn 0.8–1 cm. Stalked spikelets are 3.5-4 mm.

Cochin grass grows up to about 2 metres (6¹⁄₂ feet) and have magenta-colored base stems. The crop is best propagated through seed raised in nurseries, 2.5 kg. of the fresh seed produces enough seedling for planting one ha. of land. It is also vegetatively propagated by splitting the clumps into slips. These are planted at a spacing of 60x80 cm.  About 55,000  slips  are  required for  one  ha.  of planting. The crop flowers during November-December and seeds mature in next two months viz. February-March (dry season in Kerala). For collection of seeds, the plants are maintained in good health as the yield of seeds from plants subjected to regular harvest is low. On an average, a healthy plant gives about 100-200 g of seeds. At the time of seed collection, the whole inflorescence is cut and sun dried for 2-3 days.

These species are used for the production of citronella oil which is used in soaps, as an insect repellent (especially mosquitoes and houseflies) in insect sprays and candles, and in aromatherapy. The principal chemical constituents of citronella, geraniol and citronellol, are antiseptics, hence their use in household disinfectants and soaps. Besides oil production, citronella grass is also used for culinary purposes, as a flavoring.