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IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Botanical Name Acorus calamus Linn.
Family Araceae
Sanskrit Name(s) Vacha
Ugragandha
Shadgrantha
Golomee
Mangalyal
Shataparvika
English Name(s) Sweet flag
Local Name(s) Bach
Ghodbach (Hindi)
Boch (Bengali)
 
Habitat
Semi-aquatic, perennial cultivated on the edges of lakes and streams, throughout India upto 2000m in the Himalayas.
 
Phytography
Perrenial, erect, aromatic herb; rhizomes horizontal, cylindrical, slightly vertically compressed, internally spong white, externally light brown; leaves distichous (grass-like), 1.5 to 2m in length, base equitant; spadix sessile, cylindric, densely flowered, spathe 15 to 70 cm in length; flower small, yellow green, in a spadix; berries green, angular; 1-3 seeded, seeds oblong(fruiting very rare)
 
Phenology
Planting season March-April
Flowering & Fruiting July - August
 
Parts Used
Rhizomes
 
Ayurvedic Properties
Rasa Katu, Tikta
Guna Laghu, Teekshna, Sara
Vipaka Katu
Veerya Ushna
 
Actions & Uses
Rhizomes are stimulants, emetic, nauseant, stomachic, aromatic, expectorent, carminative, antispasmodic, nervine sedative. Used in epilepsy, indigestion, asthma, bronchitis, cold and cough, fever, arthritis, abdominal pain, hysteria, loss of memory.
 
Chemical Constituents
A neutral, yellow volatile aromatic oil, calamus oil containing asarone, beta-asarone, asaryl aldehyde, calamene, calamenenol, calameone, eugenol, etc. a bitter aromatic glucoside acorin, a resin-like bitter principle acoretin (choline), a crystalline alkaloid calamine, starch, mucilage, tannin, etc. are the main chemical constituents reported from this plant. Rhizomes yield 1.5 to 3.5 % of oil.