It is a wild growing, herbaceous green and straw-colored grass, with long slender stems, terminal flowering tops and fragrant grassy leaves. It is harvested before the flowers appear and the highest yield is obtained when the grass is fully dried - about one week after it has been cut. There are two varieties of grass from which the oil can be extracted - motia and sofia. We find the sofia chemotype to be far more active and pleasant smelling - and for this reason the oil sold by us is from this chemotype. Palmarosa oil has a sweet floral, with a hint of rose smell and is pale yellow in color with a nearly watery viscosity.