Sweetgrass is a fragrant grass with long, satiny leaves. Also known as vanillagrass, mannagrass and holy grass, it is well known to many Indigenous people in Canada and the United States as a material for baskets, as well as a scent, medicine and smudge.
 
Two closely related species are native Canada: common sweetgrass (Hierochloë hirta subspecies arctica) and alpine sweetgrass (H. alpina). As a widely used and revered sacred plant, sweetgrass is still harvested today, and continues to play an important role in Indigenous cultures.