Acorus gramineus

Acorus gramineus is commonly called grassy-leaved sweet flag. It is native to wetland areas of China, Japan, Korea, India, Thailand, Myanmar and the Philippines. It is a semi-evergreen, marginal aquatic perennial that features a grass-like tuft of narrow, linear leaf blades (1/4ì wide) that fan outward to 6-12î tall. Tiny, insignificant, yellow-green flowers bloom from spring to early summer on lateral, sedge-like flower spikes (spadixes to 2-4\ long). Flowers give way to very tiny, reddish, fleshy berries. Tufts will slowly spread over time by rhizomes to form a dense ground cover. Plants t... more »

Acorus gramineus is commonly called grassy-leaved sweet flag. It is native to wetland areas of China, Japan, Korea, India, Thailand, Myanmar and the Philippines. It is a semi-evergreen, marginal aquatic perennial that features a grass-like tuft of narrow, linear leaf blades (1/4ì wide) that fan outward to 6-12î tall. Tiny, insignificant, yellow-green flowers bloom from spring to early summer on lateral, sedge-like flower spikes (spadixes to 2-4\ long). Flowers give way to very tiny, reddish, fleshy berries. Tufts will slowly spread over time by rhizomes to form a dense ground cover. Plants thrive in wet soils and are commonly grown in water gardens and boggy areas for foliage accent or ground cover purposes. Although it looks like a grass and its common name suggests a grassy appearance, grassy-leaved sweet flag is not a member of the grass family. Originally it was assigned to the arum family (which includes calla lily and jack-in-the-pulpit), but recently it has been transferred from arum to its own family called Acoracea. Transfer from the arum family was in part done because plants in the genus Acorus do not have true spathes as are typically found in arum family members. Foliage is sweetly fragrant when bruised (hence the common name of sweet flag). Specific epithet comes from the Latin word meaning grass." (less)