CALAMUS, SWEET FLAG, RAT ROOT (Acorus americana)
The plant of many names! Calamus is known for its extraordinarily bitter, hot roots and potent medicinal properties. It is little known for the opposingly sweet leaves that both smell and taste like orange creamsicles. This is a wetland plant that prefers flooded and fully saturated soil conditions with less than 2 ft of water.
Grows with wild mint, bugleweed, marsh cinquefoil and common skullcap.
Flower Colour: green
Life Cycle: perennial
Sun Exposure: full sun
Bloom Period: June
Height: 1 – 5 ft
Soil: wet