Medicinal herbs - Acorus

Medicinal herbs Acorus calamus

                                                                    Acorus calamus







 History: the legend of AIR was introduced in our latitudes even during the Mongol invasion. In each body of water along the way, the soldiers threw pieces of rhizomes, believing that in this way the water is purified and becomes potable.


Description: A perennial plant shallow water. Found throughout the Northern Hemisphere from the European subarctic and North America to the Atlantic islands of Southeast Asia. Plants with thick horizontal rhizomes, forming dense clumps. Linear leaves collected beams. The floral stem short and flat, is on top of plump unsightly inflorescences of small greenish-yellow flowers - cob. Inflorescence covered with long leaves, like the others, but shorter than them, which seems a continuation of the stem. Hardiness depends on the species and variety.



Along rivers, oxbow lakes, lakes in the temperate zones of Europe, Asia and North America. The specific name means calamus "reed", "cane".


It is cold-resistant perennial herb to 1 m tall, with thick brown creeping rhizome, triangular, flattened stems and xiphoid pointed leaves. From the leaves of other aquatic plants are distinguished by "frill" at the margin. It is easily distinguishable as other water-coastal plants with similar leaves on green-white inflorescence cob, which appears in the June-July. We in central plant or fruit, and at home, and India and China, forms red berries. In Europe, naturalized from the XVI century., Introduced for the first time in Prague and Vienna from Constantinople (Istanbul).

Cultivar 'Variegata' - a form of artificial breeding garden with variegated leaves that have a green background are white and cream stripes. Height 60-80 cm shoots writes A.Marchenko quite hardy in Moscow.


                                                              Acorus gramineus Soland
 

                              


A tiny and elegant than the previous species. Reaches a height of 15-20 cm is also good winters in a median strip. Suitable for small and mini-ponds. In grade A. gramineus 'Variegata' (syn. Ag 'Argenteostriatus') of the same height are dark green with a pale yellow border on the edges of the leaves. There are also several golden cultivars like 'Oborozuki' and 'Ogon'. 'Pusillus' - sort of up to 20 cm tall, with slender drooping leaves. Dwarf varieties are not quite hardy. Effects with Kandelyabrovymi primrose, marigold, small Astilbe and hosts.  In a culture in 1786



Location: To be open, sunny areas.

Soil: the most suitable will be the wet patch in the garden, with a rich humus, mild clay soil. When digging carefully selected weeds, especially weed forming, and make 3-4 buckets of compost or peat moss to 1 m2.

                                                       Acorus gramineus 'Variegata'

                                                      

                                                   


                                 Care: is timely weeding and watering. When the plant take hold, despite the "swamp origin," 2-3 weeks will be easy to do without watering. Weeds should also be regularly weed, or a year or two to remove them from the sprawling calamus rhizomes will be very difficult. Air zlakovidny removed for the winter in a conservatory, greenhouse or cold cellar. Successfully overwinter in the open field he can only in the south. In the middle zone in particularly cold winters, it freezes, but it happens before that is growing and hibernates for several years.

Reproduction: calamus can replant in the fall or spring. Rhizomes are taken out of the water and a rake or pitchfork to keep fit, wrapped in damp moss. Before planting the rhizome is cut into lengths of 10-15 cm, with one or two buds (on the cut is white with a pinkish tinge, bitter taste and a strong smell). Better place to prepare in advance. Calamus plant like Iris. Rhizome segments have almost horizontally at the surface of the ground or bury 1-2 cm, 15-20 cm apart. Air marsh can be dug into the water at a depth of 20 cm, zlakovidny - by 5-15 cm

Use: for decoration coast. Calamus grows in late spring, so it is planted among the early flowering plants, such as marsh marigold or Susak umbrella - later calamus will cover these lost decorative bushes.

As a medicinal plant used in calamus rhizomes. They can be harvested at 3-4th year after planting in early spring or late fall. Excavated plants carefully cleaned from the ground, washed, cut off the stem, leaves and small roots and podvyalivayut 1-2 days in air. Then you can clean off the roots brown crust (but with a stock material quickly loses essential oils), and dried at a temperature not exceeding 30 ° C. Properly dried rhizomes should not bend and break with a crunch. Store raw materials in a dry place and paper bags or glass jars. Air is used not only in medicine. In Turkey, for example, candied rhizome - a delicious treat. Calamus essential oil is the raw material for the cosmetics industry. The rhizomes can be used as a spice in the home kitchen when cooking greasy fried meat dishes from red cabbage and fruit compotes.