Don’t cook with citronella grass.

No, they are not the same thing. They’re both in the Cymbopogon genus and look similar, but one is for dinner and the other is for your porch.

Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) is what you put in Thai curry. It’s edible, has a mild citrus flavor, and the base of the stalk is pale green and bulbous. You can find it at the grocery store for a reason.

Citronella grass (Cymbopogon nardus or winterianus) is what you plant to keep mosquitoes away. It smells strongly of citronellal (the active ingredient in many bug sprays). It’s not pleasant to eat, and you wouldn’t want to. The stems are usually more reddish at the base, and the plant grows taller and more clumpy than culinary lemongrass.

So if you grab a pot labeled “citronella” from the garden center, don’t toss it in your stir-fry. And if you see “lemongrass” at the nursery, don’t expect it to repel mosquitoes. Same family, different jobs.