Calamus, or sweet flag (_Acorus calamus_), is a native perennial
plant, occurring frequently along streams and in the edges of swamps
throughout the eastern half of the United States. The dried root
(rhizome or rootstock) is the part used as a drug.
Although calamus in a wild state is usually found growing in water, it
may be cultivated in almost any good soil which is fairly moist. It
usually does well on moderately dry upland soils which will produce
fair crops of corn or potatoes. The plants are readily propagated from
divisions of old roots, which should be set early in the fall 1 foot
apart in rows and well covered. During the following growing season
the plants should receive frequent and thorough cultivation.
The roots are harvested in the fall and may be readily dug with a spade
or turned out with a plow. The tops, together with about an inch of the
rootstock, are next cut off and used to make new plantings. The roots
are washed and dried artificially at a moderately low degree of heat.
The marketable product consists of the thick rootstocks deprived of
their small rootlets often called "fibers." These may be removed before
drying, but more easily afterwards, since when dry and brittle they
break off readily with a little handling. Roots thus treated are often
called "stripped" and are more aromatic than those which have been
peeled.
Yields at the rate of 2,000 pounds of dry roots per acre have been
obtained. The prewar price for the unpeeled root usually ranged from
3 to 5 cents a pound. The prices in June, 1920, were 10 to 12 cents a
pound. The annual importation of calamus root ranges from 5 to 10 tons.