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| Family Acoraceae | ||||||||||||||
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| Acorus calamus L |
Botany
Acorus calamus is categorized into 3 varieties based on number of its chromosomes: americanus (diploid chromosomes), vulgarus (triploid chromosomes) and angustatus (tetraploid chromosomes). Americanus is native to North America, Siberia and temperate Asia. Vulgarus is native to Europe, temperate India and the Himalayas. Angustatus is native to tropical Southeast Asia, Japan and Taiwan. Acorus from Europe, China and Japan have been planted in the United States.
Acorus gramineus is the only other member of the Acorus genus.
Chemistry
Both triploid and tetraploid calamus contain asarone, but diploid does not contain any.Regulations
Calamus and products derived from calamus (such as its oil) were banned in 1968 as food additives and medicines by the United States Food and Drug Administration.