ILLINOIS PLANT INFORMATION NETWORK ILPIN INFORMATION ON Acorus americanus CLASS: MONOCOTYLEDENAE ORDER: ARALES FAMILY: ARACEAE SCIENTIFIC NAME: Acorus americanus AUTHORITY: (Raf.) Raf. COMMON NAMES: FLAG ROOT SWEET FLAG CALAMUS SYNONOMY: Acorus calamus L. PLANTS CODE: ACCA4 NATURAL COMMUNITIES: PRAIRIE TYPICAL PRAIRIE WET WETLAND MARSH SWAMP SEEP & SPRING ACID GRAVEL SEEP SPRING COMMUNITY BORDER OF LAKE CULTURAL RESTORATION MARSH SAF FOREST COVER TYPE: UNAVAILABLE NATURAL DIVISION: Northeastern Morainal Winnebago Grand Prairie Grand Prairie Springfield Western Forest Prairie Galesburg Southern Till Plain Effingham Plain Mt. Vernon Hill Country Coastal Plain Cretaceous Hills COUNTIES: ADAMS ALEXANDER BOONE BROWN CALHOUN CARROLL CASS CHAMPAIGN CHRISTIAN COLES COOK CRAWFORD CUMBERLAND DEKALB DOUGLAS DUPAGE EDGAR EFFINGHAM FAYETTE FULTON GRUNDY HANCOCK HENDERSON IROQUOIS JACKSON JASPER JEFFERSON KANE KANKAKEE KENDALL LAKE LASALLE LAWRENCE LEE LIVINGSTON MCDONOUGH MCHENRY MCLEAN MACON MACOUPIN MARSHALL MASON MASSAC MENARD MONTGOMERY MORGAN MOULTRIE PEORIA POPE PULASKI RICHLAND ROCK ISLAND ST. CLAIR SANGAMON SCHUYLER SCOTT TAZEWELL UNION VERMILION WAYNE WHITESIDE WILL WILLIAMSON WINNEBAGO WOODFORD GROWTH FORM: Monocot TAXONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS: ROOTS: Adventitious (fibrous) (rhizomes) LEAF ARRANGEMENT: Basal LEAF TYPE: Simple LEAF MARGIN: Entire LEAF VENATION: Parallel LEAF SHAPE: Linear INFLORESCENCE: Spadix FLOWER MEROUS: 3 FLOWER STRUCTURE: Complete Regular FLOWER COLOR: Green FLOWER PLACEMENT: Hypogynous FRUIT: Berry DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTIC COMMENTS: In this species, the true spathe is absent, scape is prolonged and leaf-like; aromatic, especially the rhizome. GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION: ORIGIN: Native POPULATION DYNAMICS: STATE STATUS: Not listed FEDERAL STATUS: Not listed COMMONNESS: Occasional ENDEMIC: NOT-ENDEMIC BIOLOGIC: HABIT: Forb LIFE CYCLE: Perennial REPRODUCTION: Sexual Vegetative FLOWERING PERIOD: MONTH BEGINNING- 5 MONTH END- 8 TROPHIC STATUS: Autotrophic C02 FIXATION: C3 SEX: Perfect ENVIRONMENTAL RELATIONSHIPS: GROWTH OF SPECIES IN VARIOUS CONDITIONS: GRAVEL No data entered SAND No data entered SANDY LOAM No data entered LOAM No data entered CLAY LOAM No data entered CLAY No data entered DENSE CLAY No data entered ORGANIC SOIL No data entered NEUTRAL pH No data entered ACIDIC SOIL Good EXTREMELY ACID No data entered SALINE SOIL No data entered SODIC SOIL No data entered SODIC-SALINE No data entered ROCKY OUTCROPS No data entered GENTLE SLOPES No data entered MODERATE SLOPE No data entered STEEP SLOPES No data entered HABITAT: Emergent aquatic Wet Moist FUNCTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS: No data entered HUMAN RELATIONSHIP DATA: EDIBLE: Yes-qualified SHOWY FLOWERS: NO LANDSCAPING: NO WILD HERBS: Medicinal HUMAN FACTOR COMMENTS: Roots and tender, young shoots are edible; root is also used in perfumes and medicines. WILDLIFE AND LIVESTOCK INFORMATION: FOOD VALUE: DEER VALUE: Unknown UPLAND GAME VALUE: Unknown WATERFOWL VALUE: - Fruit SMALL NON-GAME BIRD VALUE: Unknown SMALL MAMMAL VALUE: Unknown AQUATIC MAMMAL VALUE: -Entire plant FISH VALUE: Unknown COVER VALUE: DEER: No data WATERFOWL: Good SMALL MAMMAL: No data FISH: No data SMALL BIRD: No data UPLAND GAME: No data AQUATIC MAMMAL: Good WILDLIFE COMMENTS: Regarding aquatic species food value, this pertains to aquatic furbearers. LIVESTOCK PALATABILITY DATA: No data entered REVEGETATION PLANTINGS: ESTABLISHMENT REQUIREMENTS: Easy SHORT-TERM REVEGETATION POTENTIAL: Good LONG-TERM REVEGETATION POTENTIAL: Good WEEDINESS: Non-weedy SEED AVAILABILITY: Fair PROCUREMENT COMMENTS: Seed company numbers: 1, 11 PROPAGATION COMMENTS: Form - roots planted in spring or fall at 1000/acre. REFERENCES: Mohlenbrock, R. H., ed. 1975. Guide to the vascular flora of Illinois. Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale. 494 pp. Jones, G. N. 1963. Flora of Illinois. Third ed. American Midland Naturalist Monograph 7. University of Notre Dame, Indiana. 401 pp. Steyermark, J. A. 1963. Flora of Missouri. Iowa State University Press, Ames. 1725 pp. Gleason, H. A., and A. Cronquist. 1963. Manual of vascular plants of north- eastern United States and adjacent Canada. Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., New York. 810 pp. Fernald, M. L. 1950. Gray's manual of botany. 8th ed. American Book Co., New York. 1632 pp. Swink, F., and G. S. Wilhelm. 1979. Plants of the Chicago region. Third ed. The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, Illinois. 922 pp. Anon. 1981. Illinois plants for habitat restoration. Illinois Department of Conservation, Mining Program. Springfield, Illinois. 61 pp. Downton, W. J. S. 1975. The occurrence of C4 photosynthesis among plants. Photosynthetica 9(1): 96-105. Mohlenbrock, R. H., ed. 1986. Guide to the vascular flora of Illinois. Revised and enlarged edition. Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale. 507 pp. OTHER REFERENCES: Wilson, K. A. 1960. The genera of the Arales in the southeastern United States. Journal of the Arnold Arboretum 41: 47-72. END OF DATA FOR SPECIES Acorus americanus ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ILPIN was developed by Louis Iverson*, with data compiled by David Ketzner and Jeanne Karnes Illinois Natural History Survey, 607 E. Peabody Dr., Champaign, IL 61820 *currently employed by USDA Forest Service, 359 Main Rd., Delaware, OH 43015