Acorus calamus

Acorus calamus L. (SE-As.) – A widely naturalized alien, formerly introduced for medicinal uses (known in Belgium since ca. 1680). Usually found in ditches, on canal- and riverbanks, often on sandy soils. Acorus calamus is more or less equally dispersed in Belgium but is slightly commoner in Flanders. In general, the species is slightly decreasing in recent times (Vanhecke 2006).

Acorus calamus is, even in the absence of an inflorescence, readily identifiable: its leaf margins are usually distinctly undulate or crisped.

A form with variegated leaves is also cultivated as an ornamental and has been recorded in the wild (see also Wulff & Fritz 1958).

Acorus calamus is a very vigorous grower with strong rhizomes. It is often considered an invasive species (numerous references).

Selected literature:

Bown D. (1987) Acorus calamus L.: a species with a history. Aroideana 10(3): 11-14.

Dykyjová D. (1980) Production ecology of Acorus calamus. Folia Geobotanica and Phytotaxonomica 15: 29-57.

Mathe I. (1959) Über die Standdortverhältnisse von Acorus calamus L. und dessen Vorkommen in Ungarn. Acta Bot. Acad. Sci. Hung. 5: 79-85.

Motley T.J. (1994) The ethnobotany of sweet flag, Acorus calamus (Araceae). Econ. Bot. 48: 397-412.

Packer J.G. & Ringius G.S. (1984) The distribution and status of Acorus (Araceae) in Canada. Canad. J. Bot. 62: 2248-2252.

Thompson S.A. (1995) Systematics and Biology of the Araceae and Acoraceae of Temperate North America. Ph.D. dissertation. University of Illinois. Urbana-Champaign.

Ubbink B. & Bredenkamp G.J. (1985) A new record of Acorus calamus in South Africa. Bothalia 15(3 & 4): 547. [available online at: https://abcjournal.org/index.php/abc/article/view/1840/1806]

Vanhecke L. (2006) Acorus calamus. In: Van Landuyt W., Hoste I., Vanhecke L., Van den Bremt P., Vercruysse W. & De Beer D., Atlas van de Flora van Vlaanderen en het Brussels Gewest. Instituut voor natuur- en bosonderzoek, Nationale Plantentuin van België en Flo.Wer: 106.

Walters S.M. (1975) Two famous medicinal herbs in "new" Cambridge localities. Nat. Cambridge 18: 16-18.

Wulff H.D. & Fritz E. (1958) Untersuchungen an einem variegaten Kalmus (Acorus calamus L.). Flora 146: 328-339. [available online at: https://ac.els-cdn.com/S0367161517325223/1-s2.0-S0367161517325223-main.p...