sweet flag

American  

noun

1. a plant, Acorus calamus, of the arum family, having long, sword-shaped leaves and a pungent, aromatic rootstock.

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sweet flag British  

noun

1. Also called: calamus.  an aroid marsh plant, Acorus calamus, having swordlike leaves, small greenish flowers, and aromatic roots

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Etymology

Origin of sweet flag

First recorded in 1775–85

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sweet flag

Many species — such as black mondo grass or Japanese sweet flag grass — can survive in cold weather, but they typically can’t withstand the weight of snow, according to Prinzing.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 20, 2022

The lake was layered with sweet flag, sedge, lilies, horehound, bulrush and buckbean.

From New York Times ● Oct. 21, 2016

She plunged into a swampy hollow where clusters of tall catstail, sweet flag and sedgy rushes grew around a little pond, swarming with trout and gold fish.

From A Noble Woman by Ann S. (Ann Sophia) Stephens

The sweet flag wafted towards them its humble fragrance and the water plantain unrolled about them its filaments of lace on the margin of the sleeping waters which the willow-herb starred with its purple flowers.

From Honey-Bee 1911 by Mrs. John Lane

A few minutes later she returned with two clumps of sweet flag blades from the brookside, placed one in each of the small vases, and stood them on the twin mantels, beneath the Japanese prints.

From The Idyl of Twin Fires by Walter Prichard Eaton