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Acorus americanus
Acorus americanus, the American sweet flag, is an emergent wetland plant native to the northern United States and Canada. This perennial plant has bright green blade-shaped leaves that arise directly from the rhizomes and sheath into each other at the base. Additionally the blades have 2–6 raised veins, and a swollen center when viewed in cross section. The foliage has a citrus-like spicy aromatic quality, and can be used to flavor beer. It is a flowering plant with inconspicuous flowers that are arranged on a lateral spadix (a thickened, fleshy axis) and the fertilized flowers produce berries with a jelly inside. This plant is protected as a state endangered species in Pennsylvania.
In 1968 the Food and Drug Administration banned Acorus calamus from being used as a food additive and as a medicinal as a result of lab studies that involved supplementing the diets of lab animals over a prolonged period of time with massive doses of isolated chemicals (β-asarone) from the Indian Jammu strain of Acorus calamus. The plant was labeled procarcinogenic. Wichtl says "It is not clear whether the observed carcinogenic effects in rats are relevant to the human organism." However, most sources advise caution in ingesting strains other than the diploid strain.
Like the diploid strains of Acorus calamus in parts of the Himalayas, Mongolia, and C Siberia, the Acorus americanus diploid strain does not contain the procarcinogenic β-asarone. Research has consistently demonstrated that "β-asarone was not detectable in the North American spontaneous diploid Acorus [Calamus var. Americanus]".
This plant was used extensively by Native Americans and early European settlers.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Acorus americanus by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
