Acorus gramineus
{{Short description|Species of aquatic plant}}
{{speciesbox
| image = Acorus gramineus.jpg
| genus = Acorus
| species = gramineus
| authority = Sol. Aiton, 1789
}}
Acorus gramineus, commonly known as Japanese sweet flag, Japanese rush, grassy-leaved sweet flag, and grass-leaf sweet flag,{{Cite book|url=http://www.forest.go.kr/kna/special/download/English_Names_for_Korean_Native_Plants.pdf |title=English Names for Korean Native Plants |publisher=Korea National Arboretum |year=2015 |isbn=978-89-97450-98-5 |location=Pocheon |pages=517 |access-date=25 January 2016 |via=Korea Forest Service |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525105020/http://www.forest.go.kr/kna/special/download/English_Names_for_Korean_Native_Plants.pdf |archivedate=25 May 2017 }} is a botanical species belonging to the genus Acorus, native to Japan, Korea, and eastern Asia. The plant usually grows in wetlands and shallow water.
The genome of A. gramineus has been published by independent research groups in 2022 and 2023.{{Cite journal |last1=Ma |first1=Liang |last2=Liu |first2=Ke-Wei |last3=Li |first3=Zhen |last4=Hsiao |first4=Yu-Yun |last5=Qi |first5=Yiying |last6=Fu |first6=Tao |last7=Tang |first7=Guang-Da |last8=Zhang |first8=Diyang |last9=Sun |first9=Wei-Hong |last10=Liu |first10=Ding-Kun |last11=Li |first11=Yuanyuan |last12=Chen |first12=Gui-Zhen |last13=Liu |first13=Xue-Die |last14=Liao |first14=Xing-Yu |last15=Jiang |first15=Yu-Ting |date=2023-06-20 |title=Diploid and tetraploid genomes of Acorus and the evolution of monocots |journal=Nature Communications |language=en |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=3661 |doi=10.1038/s41467-023-38829-3 |issn=2041-1723 |pmc=10282084 |pmid=37339946|bibcode=2023NatCo..14.3661M }}{{Cite journal |last1=Guo |first1=Xing |last2=Wang |first2=Fang |last3=Fang |first3=Dongming |last4=Lin |first4=Qiongqiong |last5=Sahu |first5=Sunil Kumar |last6=Luo |first6=Liuming |last7=Li |first7=Jiani |last8=Chen |first8=Yewen |last9=Dong |first9=Shanshan |last10=Chen |first10=Sisi |last11=Liu |first11=Yang |last12=Luo |first12=Shixiao |last13=Guo |first13=Yalong |last14=Liu |first14=Huan |date=2023-06-20 |title=The genome of Acorus deciphers insights into early monocot evolution |journal=Nature Communications |language=en |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=3662 |doi=10.1038/s41467-023-38836-4 |issn=2041-1723 |pmc=10281966 |pmid=37339966|bibcode=2023NatCo..14.3662G }}{{Cite journal |last1=Shi |first1=Tao |last2=Huneau |first2=Cécile |last3=Zhang |first3=Yue |last4=Li |first4=Yan |last5=Chen |first5=Jinming |last6=Salse |first6=Jérôme |last7=Wang |first7=Qingfeng |date= 2022|title=The slow-evolving Acorus tatarinowii genome sheds light on ancestral monocot evolution |journal=Nature Plants |language=en |volume=8 |issue=7 |pages=764–777 |doi=10.1038/s41477-022-01187-x |issn=2055-0278 |pmc=9300462 |pmid=35835857}}
Description
This shrubby plant's long, narrow, slightly curved leaves may grow to 30 cm (12 inches) in height. It can grow fully or partially submerged, or in very moist soil, but it will usually only flower when at least partially submerged.{{Cn|date=May 2021}}
Var. pusillus has slightly shorter, more rigid glossy green leaves, while var. variegatus has longer leaves streaked with yellow.{{Cn|date=May 2021}}
Cultivation and uses
Acorus gramineus spreads aggressively by rhizome, creating a nearly-seamless groundcover where conditions are favorable, and it is frequently used around the edges of ponds and water gardens,{{Cite web |url=http://www.floridata.com/ref/A/acor_gra.cfm |title=Acorus gramineus |access-date=2007-11-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071113233217/http://www.floridata.com/ref/A/acor_gra.cfm |archive-date=2007-11-13 |url-status=dead }} as well as submerged in freshwater aquaria. It can be propagated by dividing the fleshy underwater rhizome and planting the base in shallow water.{{Cn|date=May 2021}}
In Japan during the Heian period, leaves of the plant were gathered for the Sweet Flag Festival on the fifth day of the fifth month. Sweet flag and wormwood were spread on the roofs of houses for decoration and to ward off evil spirits. Special herbal balls made of sweet flag were also fashioned for the occasion.{{cite book |last1=Sei Shōnagon |editor1-last=McKinney |editor1-first=Meredith |title=The pillow book |date=2006 |publisher=Penguin Classics |location=London, England |isbn=0140448063 |pages=41-42, 87-88, 282}}
Notes
{{Reflist}}
References
- {{cite book| title=Simon & Schuster's Guide to Freshwater and Marine Aquarium Fishes| location=New York, New York, United States| publisher=Simon & Schuster, Inc.| year=1976| isbn=0-671-22809-9| url-access=registration| url=https://archive.org/details/simonschustersco00oliv}}
- {{cite book | title=The Pillow Book | author=Sei Shōnagon | author-link=Sei Shōnagon | translator=Meredith McKinney | location=London, England | publisher=Penguin Books, Ltd. | year=2006 | isbn=0-140-44806-3 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/pillowbook00seis/page/41 41–42, 282] }}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q2544575}}
Category:Medicinal plants of Asia