Meaning & use
Acorus calamus
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Meaning
nounproperbiologytechnical
A wetland plant also called sweet flag, with a scented underground stem used historically in medicine and flavoring.
Grammar: A two-part scientific name; singular verb, often italicized in print: Acorus calamus grows in marshes.
Patterns
- Acorus calamus grows
- extracts of Acorus calamus
Acorus calamus grows at the muddy edge of the pond.
The label listed Acorus calamus rather than the common name sweet flag.
Common combinations
- wetland Acorus calamus
- Wetland Acorus calamus can spread quickly along drainage ditches.
- rhizome of Acorus calamus
- The rhizome of Acorus calamus has a strong aromatic smell when cut.
- Acorus calamus extract
- The study tested whether Acorus calamus extract affected the insects.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sweet flag
- Sweet flag is the common English name; Acorus calamus is the formal botanical name.
- calamus
- Calamus is a shorter common name, but it can be less precise in scientific writing.
Commonly confused: Acorus calamus or cattail?
Acorus calamus vs cattail
Cattail is a different wetland plant with brown cylindrical flower spikes; Acorus calamus has sword-like leaves and a scented rhizome.
Practice
Which is the best use of Acorus calamus?
Choose one answer.
It is a singular scientific species name and equals sweet flag. Options 0 and 2 use wrong grammar, and option 3 is not a normal food claim.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “Acorus calamus”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.