Calamus

Species: Acorus calamus

Family: Acoraceae

Related Genera: Acorus

Names: Calamus, Sweet Flag, Rush, Sedges, Indischer Kalmus

History & Folklore:The name Calamus comes from Greek Kalamós, ‘reed’. In Sanskrit the word kalami means ‘reed’ or also a ‘pen’. The Arabic word qalam also means ‘pen’. Calamus reeds where used as writing implements. The name Calamari, ‘squid’, from Latin calamarium,‘ink horn’, shares the same latin root.

The hollow reeds were also used as pipes, such as the Calumet, another name for the Native American peace pipe. The shawn, or old French chalamel, a medieval and Renaissance musical instrument and predecessor to the oboe, as well as the chalumeau, a single-reed woodwind instrument of the late baroque and early classical era also derive their name from the Latin calamus or its vulgar Latin diminutive form, calamellus. Similar the chalumeau register, the lower notes of a clarinet's range (another reed instrument).

In Greek myth and elsewhere Calamus is a symbol of love, lust and affection: Kalamos, son of the river-god Maeander, loved the youth Karpos, son of Zephyrus (the West Wind) and Chloris (Spring). When Karpos drowned in a swimming race, Kalamos also drowned and was transformed into a reed, whose rustling in the wind was interpreted as a sigh of lamentation.

In Tamil culture the root is called vasambu and bracelets are made from cut root pieces, traditionally given to newborn babies to be worn during the first months of their life.

Common Uses: The aromatic oils are used in flavoring bitters, absinthe and coke.

Medicinal & Toxicological: The root contains essential oils used medicinally in tea, baths and incense. Different plant strains contain different amounts of eugenol and α- and β-asaron, whereby diploids do not contain β-asaron. β-asaron acts procarcinogenic in rats and reduces lipid accumulation in fat cells. Both roots and leaves of A. calamus have shown antioxidant, antimicrobial and insecticidal activities. It is widely employed in modern herbal medicine for its sedative, laxative, diuretic, and carminative properties.

Sources: "Räucherstoffe, Der Atem des Drachen" by Christian Rätsch (ISBN-13 978-3038003021), Wikipedia English, Wikipedia German, Alchemy Works