|
Photographer: Damon A. Smith
|
Family Acoraceae
Acorus calamus L.
sweet-flag
Acorus: the Latin akoron was the Greek name of an iris
calamus: from Greek mythological figure Kalamos, the son of Maiandros (aka Meander), god of the Meander River.
|
|
| Status: | Introduced - naturalized |
| Plant: | erect, perennial, emergent semi-aquatic up to 6' tall; sweet spicy smell when crushed; very long, aromatic rhizomes |
| Flower: | yellow to brown, tiny, 6-parted; inflorescence a 2"-4" dense, thick, pointed spadix protruding from the side of leaf-like spathe; blooms June-July |
| Fruit: | brown berry, dry on the outside |
| Leaf: | sweetly aromatic, crowded at the base, long, narrow, sword-like, only midvein prominently raised, 1 wavy margin |
| Habitat: | shallows, ponds, marshes, in water less than 20" deep; in sediment soil |
| (Glossary) |
|
