Acorus americanus Sweetflag
General
Formerly classified as Acorus calsmus. Sweetflag is an obligate wetland plant found on shore edges and shallow water, with tall, lance-like blades and a sweet, spicy citrus fragrance when crushed. Sweetflag, despite the appetizing name and fragrance, should not be consumed by humans.
Plant Description
Sweetflag grows in clusters on shore edges, with the lance-like leaves growing to four feet tall. Flowers are green and brown rounded spathes, each a few inches long, which grow from the middle of the plant. The plant spreads and grows via rhizomes once established.
Height (ft)
4
Soil moisture
Moist, High
Soil types
Fine to Medium texture, muddy soils
Wetland indicator
OBL
Shade tolerance
Intolerant, Full Sun
Bloom color
Green, Yellow
Bloom period
Summer
Drought tolerance
None
Salinity tolerance
None
Distribution
Northeastern United States, from Maine west to Minnesota and South Dakota, and south to New York, with isolated populations in Idaho.
Additional information
“Acorus Americanus.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 16 Aug. 2021. LINK
Brown, Lauren. Grasses: An Identification Guide. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York City, 1979. LINK
Fassett, Norman C. A Manual of Aquatic Plants, First Edition. McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York and London, 1940. LINK
Garbisch, Edgar W., and McIninch, Suzanne M. Propagation of Wetland Plants: Herbaceous Plants, Shrubs and Trees. Environmental Concern, Inc. 2003. LINK
Harris, James G., and Harris, Melinda Woolf. Plant Identification Terminology: An Illustrated Glossary, Second Edition. Spring Lake Publishing, Spring Lake, Utah. 2011. LINK
Hitchcock, A.S., and Chase, Agnes. Manual of the Grasses of the United States, Second Edition, Volume I. Dover Publications, Inc., New York, 1971. LINK
Kartesz, J.T., The Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2015. North American Plant Atlas. (http://bonap.net/napa). Chapel Hill, N.C. [maps generated from Kartesz, J.T. 2015. Floristic Synthesis of North America, Version 1.0. Biota of North America Program (BONAP). (in press) LINK
McKenny, Margaret and Peterson, Roger Tory. A Field Guide to Wildflowers of Northeastern and North-central North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1968. LINK
Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb's Wildflower Guide. Laurence Newcomb, Mexico. 1977. LINK
USDA, NRCS. 2021. PLANTS Database (https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/, 08/20/2021). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA. LINK