ACORUS CALAMUS

FAMILY :: ARACEAE
SWEET FLAG: From Central Asia, but now distributed throughout all Northern temperate and sub-tropical zones, this hardy, water-loving plant is slightly sedative (in Ayurvedic and Thai medicine), a stimulant (in American Indian medicine and the US Pharmacopœia), is used to stimulate the gastric and salivary glands universally. In larger doses, it is considered an aphrodisiac. And at 10 times the dose used by the Cree tribe as a stimulant, it has been reported to be hallucinogenic. Popular in herbal baths and formerly used as a beer and liqueur flavoring. Contains asarones which may be carcinogenic in large doses.