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MISC. PUBLICATION 77, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



SWEETFLAG 



Acorus calamus L. (Fig. 105.) 



Other common names. — Sweet cane, sweet grass, sweet myrtle, sweet rush, 

 sweet sedge, sweet segg, sweetroot, cinnamon sedge, myrtle flag, myrtle grass, 

 myrtle sedge, beewort. 



Habitat and range. — The plant frequents wet and muddy places and borders 

 of streams from Nova Scotia to Minnesota and southward to Florida and Texas. 

 It is often partly immersed in water. 



Description. — The swordlike leaves of the sweetflag resemble those of other 

 flags so much that the plant is difficult to distinguish except when it is in flower. 

 There are reports of children having been poisoned by the rootstock of the blue- 

 flag or poison flag through mistaking that plant for the sweetflag on account of 

 the similarity of the leaves. The pointed, sheathing leaves are from 2 to 6 feet 

 in height and about 1 inch in width. The small greenish-yellow flowers which 

 appear from May to July are borne in a fleshy spike about 3 inches long. The 

 long creeping rootstocks are thick and fleshy, somewhat spongy, and have numer- 

 ous rootlets. They have an agreeable aromatic odor and a pungent, bitter taste 

 which are retained after drying. 



Part used. — The rootstock, collected in early spring or late in autumn. It 

 must be thoroughly freed from dirt, the rootlets removed, and then carefully dried. 

 It deteriorates with age and is subject to the attacks of worms. In limited 

 demand only. 



Figure 105. —Sweetflag (Acorus calamus) 



Figure 106.— Tamarack (Larix laricina) 



TAMARACK 



Larix laricina (DuRoi) K. Koch. (Fig. 106.) 



Synonym. — Larix americana Michx. 



Other common names. — American larch, black larch, red larch, hackmatack. 



Habitat and range. — This tree frequents swamps and moist places from Canada 

 south to New Jersey, Indiana, and Minnesota. 



Description. — The tamarack, a slender tree with horizontally spreading branches, 

 sometimes reaches a height of 100 feet. The pale-green leaves, which have 

 a feathery appearance early in spring, are very slender and needle shaped, from 

 20 to 40 being together in a bundle, similar to the manner in which pine needles 

 grow. Unlike the pine, however, the tamarack loses its leaves upon the approach 

 of winter. Male and female flowers are produced, the latter developing into 

 small, erect cones. The bark is thin and close, becoming scaly with age. 



Part used. — The bark. In limited demand only. 



