A sweetgrass plant. Photo by Andrew Maxwell Phineas Jones, University of Guelph via ACS

Sweetgrass has many ceremonial, practical and sacred uses in Native culture and researchers have confirmed that the plant acts as a bug repellent.

Research being presented at a meeting of the American Chemical Society today shows that Hierochloe odorata works best against mosquitoes. The plant's effectiveness is comparable to that of DEET, a chemical used in commercially-available bug sprays.

“It gives off a sweet aroma that repels mosquitoes," researcher Charles Cantrell said of the plant in a press release.

Cantrell's study was partially funded by the U.S. military through the Armed Forces Pest Management Board. DEET was initially developed in 1994 for military use.

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Research confirms Native American use of sweetgrass as bug repellent (The Washington Post 8/18)