Looking great in the garden is the amazing Acorus calamus ‘Argenteostriatus’, a deciduous wetland perennial, native to Kazakhstan. Acorus calamas has been used by humans since at least 1300 BC, when the Egyptians documented using the fragrant rhizomes and roots to create perfumes. Purportedly, early North American settlers used this for a psychotropic experience.
This species has been distributed worldwide, and is now represented around the world by a diploid, triploid, and tetraploid form. The variegated form below represents the tetraploid genetics. Since it needs to grow in reasonably moist soils, we use it our rain gardens, where it performs amazingly, spreading by thick, thumb-sized rhizomes. It is commonly sold as the cultivar ‘Variegatus’, but the original published name is Acorus calamus ‘Argenteostriatus’.
