Sweet flag

The Scientific name of the sweet flag: is Acorus Calamus

Name of sweet flag in different languages:-

English: Sweet Root, Sweet Sedge, Calamus

Sanskrit: Vaca, Ugragandha, Shataparvika, Kshudrapatra, Lomasha, Bhadra, Ugragandha, Shadgrantha, Golomi, Rakshoghni, Haimavati.

Hindi: Gora-bach, Vasa bach.

Malayalam: Vayambu വയമ്പ്.

Plant description:

Sweet Flag – Acorus Calamus is a perennial herb, commonly grown in marshland or wet areas, it grows to 1 to 4 ft tall, leaves are slender, simple, long, and sword-shaped, emerge directly from a spreading rootstock, flattened and smooth along margins. The flowers are fragrant, small, greenish-yellow, and diamond-shaped pattern, 6 tepals, and it is flowering is March to May. The rhizome is the useful plant part, which is fragrant.

Medicinal uses:

Induce memory power and intelligence, improve memory, anti-aging, increase semen, increase vision, to remove toxic substances from the body.

Useful plant parts:

Root/Rhizome

Leaf Arrangement

Medicinal Properties:

Diuretic, expectorant, decongestant, anti-convulsant, aphrodisiac, anti-bacterial agent and anti-inflammatory

Chemical content:

Absinthe, Alpha-asarone, Beta-asarone, eugenol, spathulenol, galangin, alpha-asarone, cis-isoelemicine, acoradin, and dimethoxy-benzoquinone

How to prepare medicines:

In Kerala,  a mixture of Honey and rhizomes of Sweet flag (തേനും വയമ്പും ) is given as a first intake for newborn babies.

Sweet flag is one of the ingredients in the Ayurveda medicines like-