Photos & Information

>Wildflowers

     White

     Pink

     Red and Orange

     Yellow

     Blue and Purple

     Green and Brown

• Ferns

• Rare Plants

• Gardening with
  Native Plants

• Plant ID Guides

• Links

The Society

• Home

• Field Trips

• Meetings

• Newsletter

• Membership

• Get Involved

• Contact Us

• About this Web Site

Sweet flag leaves have a lemony scent. The roots have a sweet fragrance, and they were once used to flavor candy. Two species of sweet flag grow in Connecticut. Acorus calamus was brought from Europe, and Acorus americanus is native. Acorus calamus is sterile, due to the fact that it has a triploid number of chromosomes; Acorus americanus is a fertile diploid. The two plants are very similar in appearance; for information on distinguishing them, see Flora of North America.

• Family: Sweet Flag (Acoraceae)
• Habitat: swamps, marshes, riverbanks
• Height: 1-4 feet
• Flower size: tiny flowers on a 2-4 inches spadix
• Flower color: yellow and green
• Flowering time: May to August
• Origin: Europe