Calamus

Acorus americanus, A. calamus

Also: Sweet flag, Bitterroot, Vacha

WarmingDryingRelaxingLow-dose herb

A warming bitter root for cold digestion, a strained voice, and a scattered mind.

A wetland plant with sword-shaped, sweet-smelling leaves and an aromatic rhizome that creeps through the mud at pond edges. Calamus is a warming bitter that stirs cold, sluggish digestion and gas, steadies anxious, scattered nerves, and soothes a voice worn out by talking or singing.

Energetics: Warming, drying, relaxing
Taste: Bitter, pungent, aromatic
Family: Acoraceae (sweet flag family)
Parts used: Rhizome

Medicinal uses 4

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Traditional useLab and mechanism studiesClinical studies

Indigestion & bloatingTLC
A warming bitter and carminative for gas, cramping, and a cold, sluggish stomach.
Sluggish liver & digestionTLC
Taken before meals, wakes appetite and bile flow.
Sore throatTLC
A small piece of root chewed slowly soothes a throat and voice strained from talking or singing.
Anxiety & stressTLC
Steadies anxious, scattered, overwhelmed states.

Preparations

Small pieces of chewed root, cold infusion, and drop doses of tincture.

Practitioner Practitioners are able to see the amounts and methods for calamus. It is a low-dose herb, with a narrow margin between a helpful dose and a harmful one.

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Cautions

Use only calamus free of beta-asarone: the North American type, Acorus americanus. Asian and Indian strains are rich in beta-asarone, which caused cancer in animal studies, and the FDA bars calamus from food for that reason.
Large doses cause nausea and vomiting.
It is intensely bitter; take a little at a time.

Medication interactions

Practitioner Practitioners are able to see the 2 types of medicine flagged for calamus, each with the mechanism and what to do. The plain-language cautions above stay open to everyone.

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Pregnancy & breastfeeding

PregnancyAvoid

Calamus is a traditional emmenagogue, so it is avoided in pregnancy.

BreastfeedingAvoid

Its beta-asarone content in some strains and the lack of nursing data keep it out of breastfeeding.

Folklore

In Ayurveda calamus is vacha, from the Sanskrit for speech, and it is taken to clear both the voice and the mind. Cree, Ojibwe, Lakota, and many other nations chew the root, often called ratroot or bitterroot, for colds, sore throats, and stamina on long journeys. Its crushed leaves smell sweet and spicy, and they were once strewn on the floors of English churches and houses.

How to grow

A hardy perennial for wet ground: pond margins, bog gardens, or a pot kept standing in water, in sun or part shade. It spreads by rhizomes and divides easily. Dig rhizomes in autumn or early spring, from clean water only.

In the wild

Marshes, pond edges, and stream banks across North America (Acorus americanus), and across Europe and Asia (A. calamus).

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