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SWEET FLAG - Acorus Calamus
Also Known As: Calamus, sweet sedge, rat root, sweet
myrtle, beewort, bachh (Hindu), Racha (Vedic), Shihch'ang pu (Chinese) LOCALES
FOUND : Europe, Asia, China, North America from Nova Scotia to Minnesota;
southward to Florida & Texas.
The effects of Calamus, produced from the root, are as a
stimulant when a dried root of about 2 inches length and the thickness of a
pencil; a Hallucinogen when 10+ inches of selfsame root are eaten. It is legal
in the US and can be bought in dried form in many parts of the country for under
$3 an ounce. It has an additional medicinal value, according to the Cree
Indians, to relieve constipation, in the smaller dosage.
The root can be chewed and eaten raw, and has a taste of
a bitter ginger root. Eaten this way it numbs the tongue for 4-10 minutes.
Although possible this takes developing a taste for it. A tonic or tea can also
be made, far more useful if all you can find is the ground root, 1 ounce per 1
pint of the boiling water, preferably mixed with a few pleasant tasting herbs
like spearmint or peppermint and served with honey (NO MILK PRODUCT - IT WILL
CAUSE IRRITATION, POSSIBLE VOMITING IF SUCH IS DONE). Preferably take it on an
empty stomache. In this form it does not act as a Hallucinogen but does have its
other effects. Calamus can also be added to a meade recipe, but will give it a
slightly bitter aftertaste no matter what other herbs you add to the brew.
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