sweet flag

American  

noun

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

---

sweet flag British  

noun

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

---

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

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 Lane, Mrs. John

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 Stephens, Ann S. (Ann Sophia)

But he fears sharp swords, so the long swordshaped blades of the sweet flag are gathered from the edges of rivers and the sides of swampy rice-fields, and used as decorations.

From Peeps at Many Lands: Japan by Finnemore, John