Acorus
| Acorus | |
|---|---|
| |
| Sweet flag Acorus calamus - spadix | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Acorales Reveal[1] |
| Family: | Acoraceae Martinov[1] |
| Genus: | Acorus L. |
| Synonyms | |
|
Calamus Garsault [2] | |
Acorus is a
The genus is native to
Characteristics
The inconspicuous
Taxonomy
Although the family Acoraceae was originally described in 1820, since then Acorus has traditionally been included in Araceae in most classification systems, as in the
Species
In older literature and on many websites, there is still much confusion, with the name Acorus calamus equally but wrongfully applied to Acorus americanus (formerly Acorus calamus var. americanus).
As of July 2014, the Kew Checklist accepts only 2 species, one of which has three accepted varieties:[2]
- Himalayas and southern Asia, widely cultivated and naturalised elsewhere.
- Acorus calamus var. angustatus Besser - Siberia, China, Russian Far East, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Himalayas, Indian Subcontinent, Indochina, Philippines, Indonesia
- Acorus calamus var. calamus - Siberia, Russian Far east, Mongolia, Manchuria, Korea, Himalayas; naturalized in Europe, North America, Java and New Guinea
- Acorus americanus Raf. - Canada, northern United States, Buryatiya region of Russia
- Acorus gramineus Sol. ex Aiton – Japanese sweet flag or grassy-leaved sweet flag; fertile diploid (2n = 18); - China, Himalayas, Japan, Korea, Indochina, Philippines, Primorye
Acorus from Europe, China and Japan have been planted in the United States.
Etymology
The name 'acorus' is derived from the Greek word 'acoron', a name used by
]Distribution and habitat
These plants are found in
Ecology
The native North American species appears in many ecological studies. Compared to other species of wetland plants, they have relatively high competitive ability.[12] Although many marsh plants accumulate large banks of buried seeds,[13] seed banks of Acorus may not accumulate in some wetlands owing to low seed production.[14] The seeds appear to be adapted to germinate in clearings; after a period of cold storage, the seeds will germinate after seven days of light with fluctuating temperature, and somewhat longer under constant temperature.[15] A comparative study of its life history traits classified it as a "tussock interstitial", that is, a species that has a dense growth form and tends to occupy gaps in marsh vegetation, not unlike Iris versicolor.[16]
Toxicity
Products derived from Acorus calamus were banned in 1968 as food additives by the United States Food and Drug Administration.[17] The questionable chemical derived from the plant was β-asarone. Confusion exists whether all strains of A. calamus contain this substance.
Four varieties of A. calamus strains exist in nature: diploid, triploid, tetraploid and hexaploid.[18] Diploids do not produce the carcinogenic β-asarone. Diploids are known to grow naturally in Eastern Asia (Mongolia and C Siberia) and North America. The triploid cytotype probably originated in the Himalayan region, as a hybrid between the diploid and tetraploid cytotypes.[19] The North American Calamus is known as Acorus calamus var. americanus or more recently as simply Acorus americanus. Like the diploid strains of A. calamus in parts of the Himalayas, Mongolia, and C Siberia, the North American diploid strain does not contain the carcinogenic β-asarone.[20][21][22] Research has consistently demonstrated that "β-asarone was not detectable in the North American spontaneous diploid Acorus [calamus var. americanus]".[23]
Uses
The parallel-veined leaves of some species contain ethereal oils that give a sweet scent when dried. Fine-cut leaves used to be strewn across the floor in the Middle Ages, both for the scent, and for presumed efficacy against
References
- ^ a b Reveal, James L. (17 February 2011). "Indices Nominum Supragenericorum Plantarum Vascularium – S, Solanales". Indices Nominum Supragenericorum Plantarum Vascularium Alphabetical Listing by Genera of Validly Published Suprageneric Names. University of Maryland and Cornell University.
- ^ a b c Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
- ^ Flora of North America: Acorus
- ^ Flora of China, Vol. 23 Page 1, 菖蒲属 chang pu shu, Acorus Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 324. 1753.
- ^ Govaerts, R. & Frodin, D.G. (2002). World Checklist and Bibliography of Araceae (and Acoraceae): 1–560. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
- ^ Boyce, P.C., Sookchaloem, D., Hetterscheid, W.L.A., Gusman, G., Jacobsen, N., Idei, T. & Nguyen, V.D. (2012). Flora of Thailand 11(2): 101–325. The Forest Herbarium, National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department, Bangkok.
- ^ Nooteboom, H.P. (ed.) (2011). Flora Malesiana 20: 1–61. Noordhoff-Kolff N.V., Djakarta.
- ^ Soltis et al 2011.
- ^ Givnish et al 2010.
- .
- ^ Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. Chapter 1.
- S2CID 4284026. Figure 1.
- JSTOR 1936377.
- JSTOR 2446183.
- JSTOR 2260825. Appendix 3.
- JSTOR 3236124. Figure 2
- ^ "Code of Federal regulations, title 21".
- ^ Ginwal, HS, An efficient genomic DNA isolation protocol for RAPD and SSR analysis in Acorus calamus L.
- ^ Evstatieva et al., Fitologiya 48: 19–22. 1996; Löve & Löve, Proc. Genet. Soc. Canada 2: 14–17. 1957
- PMID 16190653.
- ^ (Rost and Bos, 1979)
- ^ Antimicrobial activities of the crude methanol extract of Acorus calamus Linn., S Phongpaichit, N Pujenjob, J. Songklanakarin
- S2CID 86085313.
Bibliography
- Govaerts, R. & Frodin, D.G. (2002). World Checklist and Bibliography of Araceae and Acoraceae. 1-560. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
- Flora of North America: Acoraceae
- Acorales in Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 7, May 2006.
- NCBI Taxonomy Browser
- AcoraceaeAcoraceae in L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards) The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, information retrieval. Version: 27 April 2006. http://delta-intkey.com.
- Taxonomy and distribution of Acorus in Maine
- Platt, Karen. Gold Fever 2004 ISBN 978-0954576417
- Phylogenetic analysis of rbcL sequences identifies Acorus calamus as the primal extant monocotyledon. Duvall 1993
- Duvall, Melvin R.; Clegg, Michael T.; JSTOR 2399849.
- Analysis of Acorus calamus Chloroplast Genome and Its Phylogenetic Implications Vadim V. Goremykin 2005[dead link]
- S2CID 15036227.
- PMID 21613169.
