vertiver

Noun

vetiver (countable and uncountable, plural vetivers)

1. The grass Chrysopogon zizanioides (synonym Vetiveria zizanioides), which is native to India, but planted throughout the tropics for its fragrant roots and for erosion control.
   • Two types of vetiver have been found in India – (i) flowering or seeding vetiver which grows wild in North India, and (ii) non-flowering or non-seeding vetiver which is cultivated in South India.2003, Anand Akhila, Mumkum Rani, “4: Chemical Conatituents and Essential Oil Biogenisis in Vetiveria zizanioides”, in Massimo Maffei, editor, Vetiveria: The Genus Vetiveria, page 73
2. The aromatic root of the grass.
3. An essential oil derived from the root; the fragrance of the oil.
   • She pressed his hand and was gone in a mist of vetiver, abruptly as the other evening.2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage, published 2007, page 612