Acorus calamus - what should I do with this?

I work at a wholesale nursery...and scored a free #3 container of Acorus calamus

* What are the pros/cons of this plant?

It's a leftover and forgotten plant that's been in a container for +5 years.

I can divide it several times, and have wet areas and a pond - but want to gain some insight before planting.

Hi Rob,

No personal experience with the plant, but according to this site, may be edible and have medicinal uses:

https://pfaf.org/user/plant.aspx?latinname=Acorus+calamus

Must be true if it’s on the inter web, right?  

Artie Scott wrote:Hi Rob,

No personal experience with the plant, but according to this site, may be edible and have medicinal uses:

https://pfaf.org/user/plant.aspx?latinname=Acorus+calamus

Must be true if it’s on the inter web, right?  

This was posted elsewhere in a couple Facebook groups and someone else linked to this pfaf site.

Based on my own experience in the industry, there are many other resources out there with information I trust more than this site.

The pfaf site appears to have nice additional "permie-centric" sites to cross reference plants for sure.

I'm not saying that it's a bad site by any means, as much information is on point with other sources of information I've found.

I find that there are other sources online with a much more comprehensive history on the plant and it's relatives.

It's worth noting that based on the information that I found, I opted not to plant Acorus calamus on my property.

Had it been Acorus americanus - I'd have likely considered putting in the ground...but not A. calamus.

My thought is handling it in a manner similar to the cattails in/around our pond - not the native Typha latifolia (rather than Typha angustifolia).

I can confirm that it does have medicinal uses. Just off the top of my head, its used for stress reduction, lowering blood pressure, and is being tested as a possible cancer treatment. But double-check. And be aware that it sometimes does a little too well at lowering blood pressure, to the point where it causes problems.

Ellendra Nauriel wrote:I can confirm that it does have medicinal uses. Just off the top of my head, its used for stress reduction, lowering blood pressure, and is being tested as a possible cancer treatment. But double-check. And be aware that it sometimes does a little too well at lowering blood pressure, to the point where it causes problems.

I don’t doubt the medicinal value of it whatsoever, but its now in the compost pile.  My uncertainly of its value (to me) led me to turn it into future plants that may or may not be Acorus.  🤷‍♂️