NORTHERN HOLY-GRASS 1872 John Edward Sowerby PLANT PRINT

Original 1872 6 1/2 inch x 9 7/8 inch coloured print titled HIEROCHLOE BOREALIS. NORTHERN HOLY-GRASS.

Also known as Hierochloe odorata commonly known as sweet grass, manna grass, Mary’s grass or vanilla grass, and as holy grass in the UK is an aromatic herb native to northern Eurasia and North America. It is considered sacred by many Indigenous peoples in Canada and the United States. It is used as a smudge, in herbal medicine and in the production of distilled beverages. It owes its distinctive sweet scent to the presence of coumarin.

Drawn by John Edward Sowerby (1825 - 1870). A British botanical illustrator and publisher born in Lambeth, London.

From a disbound copy of English Botany; or, Coloured Figures of British Plants edited by John T. Boswell Syme

Third Edition Published in London in 1872 by by Robert Hardwicke, 192 Piccadilly.

The print is in very good condition. Reverse side blank.