Other names:
sweet flag
Description:
Calamus has been used medicinally for a wide variety of ailments.
During antiquity in the Orient and Egypt, the
rhizome was thought to be a powerful
aphrodisiac. In Europe Acorus calamus was often added to wine, and the root is also one of the possible ingredients of absinthe.
Among the northern Native Americans, it is used both medicinally and as a
stimulant; in addition, the root is thought to have been used as an entheogen among the northern Native Americans.
In high doses, it is an hallucinogenic.
The plant's roots are often eaten for its effects, which are not very pronounced. Hence, acorus calamas is not seen as a party drug.
Cultivation:
Calamus or Common Sweet Flag (Acorus calamus) is a plant from the Acoraceae family, Acorus genues. It is a tall perennial wetland monocot with scented leaves and rhizomes which have been used medicinally, for its odor, and as a psychotropic drug. It is known by a variety of names, including cinnamon sedge, flagroot, gladdon, myrtle flag, myrtle grass, myrtle sedge, sweet cane, sweet myrtle, sweet root, sweet rush, and sweet sedge. Its Sanskrit name is vacha. Probably indigenous to India, Acorus calamus is now found across Europe, in southern Russia, northern Asia Minor, southern Siberia, China, Japan, Burma, Sri Lanka, Australia, southern Canada and northern USA.
The morphological distinction between the Acorus species is made by the number of prominent leaf veins. Acorus calamus has a single prominent midvein and then on both sides slightly raised secondary veins (with a diameter less than half the midvein) and many, fine tertiary veins. This makes it clearly distinct from Acorus americanus.
The leaves are between 0.7 and 1.7 cm wide, with average of 1 cm. The sympodial leaf of Acorus calamus is somewhat shorter than the vegetative leaves. The margin is curly-edged or undulate. The spadix, at the time of expansion, can reach a length between 4.9 and 8.9 cm (longer than A. americanus). The flowers are longer too, between 3 and 4 mm. Acorus calamus is infertile and shows an abortive ovary with a shriveled appearance.
Plant info:
Acoraceae
Plant Longevity:
Perennial
Tags: herbs, alternative medicine, Calamus, Acorus calamas,
