Acorus calamus




Family Acoraceae
Scientific name Acorus calamus L.
Synonyms Acorus americanus auct., non (Rafinesque) Rafinesque; Acorus asiaticus Nakai ex Kitagawa; Acorus belangeri Schott; Acorus calamus L. var. americanus auct., non (Rafinesque) H. Wulff; Acorus calamus L. var. angustatus Besser; Acorus casia Bertoloni; Acorus cochinchinense (Loureiro) Schott; Acorus commersonii Schott; Acorus commutatus Schott; Acorus elatus Salisbury; Acorus europaeus Dumortier; Acorus griffithii Schott; Acorus nilaghirensis Schott; Acorus odoratus Lamarck; Acorus spurius Schott; Acorus tatarinowii Schott; Acorus undulatus Stokes; Acorus vulgaris Simonkai; Calamus aromaticus Güldenstaedt; Orontium cochinchinense Loureiro
Common name (Japanese common name) shobu (ショウブ, 菖蒲 [shobu = Japanese pronunciation of a traditional Chinese medicine])
(English common name) sweetflag
Distribution (Japan) Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu
(Other nations) Russia, Korea, China, Mongolia, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Caucasus, Iran, Turkey (naturalized in Europe and North America)
Habit Pond, swamp, riverside
Chromosomal number 2n=18, 24, 36, 44, 48 [Acorus calamus var. angustatus in Japan: 2n=44]
Description Aerial stems ca. 2cm wide. Leaves tufted, 20-50cm long, 5-11mm wide. Scapes 25-40cm tall, bract leaves 30-40cm long. Flowers inflorescences 5.5-10cm long, 1cm wide, 6 perianths each 2mm long, 6 stamens, filaments 2mm long, flowering in April to May. Perennial plants.
Reference Acorus calamus L.
Acorus calamus Linnaeus
Bath preparations and method for producing the same (US Patent 4728510/1988)
Process for preparing a partial extract containing the volatile in steam components and further lipophilic components of medical plants and/or spice plants (US Patent 5176913/1993)
Herbal compositions (US Patent 5693327/1997)
Water purificant (US Patent 6254800/2001)
Cosmetic formulations for the prevention and therapy of hair loss (US Patent 6270752/2001)
Fabric protectant against pests (US Patent 6436150/2002)
Microwave assisted rapid and economical process for the preparation of substituted phenylaldehydes from trans and cis-phenylpropenes: a commercial utilisation of toxic cis-isomer (US Patent 6544390/2003)
Use of drosophila melanogaster as a model for screening psychostimulant plant materials (US Patent 6617491/2003)
Process for the preparation of 1-Propyl-2, 4, 5-trimethoxybenzene from toxic .beta.-asarone of acorus calamus or from crude calamus oil containing .beta.-asarone (US Patent 6528041/2003)
Process for the preparation of pharmacologically active .alpha.-asarone from toxic .beta.-asarone rich acorus calamus oil (US Patent 6590127/2003)
DDQ mediated one step dimerization of β-asarone or β-asarone rich Acorus calamus oil in the formation of novel neolignan (US Patent 6969778/2005)
Note Some authors may argue that Acorus americanus (Rafinesque) Rafinesque (syn. Acorus calamus L. var. americanus (Rafinesque) H. Wulff, Acorus calamus auct., non L.) is a synonym of Acorus calamus L.




April 2008
at Ushiku Iris Garden
April 2008
at Ushiku Iris Garden
April 2008
at Ushiku Iris Garden




June 2007
at lowland marsh