← Herb Library

Sweet flag

Acorus calamus

Acoraceae // rhizome

Also known as: calamus, sweet flag, vacha

Safety warning on record — see SafetyLegal status varies by jurisdiction — see Legal

Your shelf

Not tracked on your shelf
View shelf →

Uses & evidence

Uses and evidence recorded
View →

Preparation

No preparation information recorded

Safety

Safety cautions recorded
View →

Research

No linked research on file
Open research →

Overview

Plant parts

rhizome

Known constituents

alpha-asarone, beta-asarone (cytotype-dependent)

Research corpus coverage

Ethnobotanical / entheogenicPet safety

Chemistry notes

  • Principal reported constituents include alpha-asarone, beta-asarone (cytotype-dependent); broad class: phenylpropanoids; CNS effects incompletely characterized.

Uses & Evidence

Traditional / historical use

Documented traditional use — not a claim of established efficacy.

No traditional-use records in this corpus.

Modern evidence

  • Diploid/triploid/tetraploid cytotypes differ greatly in beta-asarone; Acorus americanus is distinct.

    MODERATE · Ethnic, Botanic, Phytochemistry and Pharmacology of the Acorus L. Genus: A Review

    Identity/attribution caution.

Safety

Human

  • High risk

    Safety severity is HIGH: beta-asarone has genotoxic/carcinogenic concern; composition varies by cytotype

    Intrinsic toxicity · HIGH · Ethnic, Botanic, Phytochemistry and Pharmacology of the Acorus L. Genus: A Review

Additional safety notes (general, unstructured)

Free-text safety notes carried from their source — not broken out by species, route, or hazard type, and not equivalent to the structured records above. Each note names the kind of source it came from.

  • Safety severity is HIGH: beta-asarone has genotoxic/carcinogenic concern; composition varies by cytotype

    HIGH · Ethnic, Botanic, Phytochemistry and Pharmacology of the Acorus L. Genus: A Review

Preparation × species risk matrix

Unknown means insufficient evidence was located — not that a form is safe.

Cats

  • tinctureCaution
  • concentrated extractUnknown
  • essential oilUnknown
  • glyceriteUnknown
  • infused oilUnknown
  • salveUnknown
  • smoke/combustionUnknown
  • tea/infusionUnknown
  • whole herbUnknown

Dogs

  • tinctureCaution
  • concentrated extractUnknown
  • essential oilUnknown
  • glyceriteUnknown
  • infused oilUnknown
  • salveUnknown
  • smoke/combustionUnknown
  • tea/infusionUnknown
  • whole herbUnknown

Identity

  • Related, not interchangeableTetraploid sweet flag

    Acorus calamus cytotypes are morphologically similar but differ in beta-asarone content.

    HIGH · Molecular and chemical profiling of 'sweet flag' (Acorus calamus L.)

  • Synonym

    GBIF lists Acorus aromaticus Gueldenst., 1791 as a taxonomic synonym of Acorus calamus.

    HIGH · GBIF Species Synonyms API

Common name

calamus, sweet flag, vacha

Traditions

Ayurvedic, East Asian and North American ethnobotanical contexts

South Asia, East Asia, Europe and North America // ancient textual and living medicinal/ritual traditions // living and historical traditions

  • Ethnobotanical

    Sweet flag is documented in Ayurvedic, East Asian and North American ethnobotanical contexts in South Asia, East Asia, Europe and North America for medicine, incense, purification and cognition-related traditional uses.

    HIGH · Ethnic, Botanic, Phytochemistry and Pharmacology of the Acorus L. Genus: A Review

  • Ritual

    Documented functions include healing, protective, ritual; these functions are tradition-specific and should not be generalized across cultures.

    HIGH · Ethnic, Botanic, Phytochemistry and Pharmacology of the Acorus L. Genus: A Review

Sources

Research records are source-linked but may not yet be editorially reviewed.