Calamus vulgaris is a perennial evergreen herbaceous plant of the Calamus family (Acoráceae). It has from 2 to six species growing in damp places or in shallow waters – along the banks of streams, rivers and lakes, on the outskirts of swamps. Other popular names: sword root, irny root, gair, kalamus, reeds, kosatnik, lepeshnik, cinquefoil, Tatar potion, Tatar cinquefoil, yaver, yaer.
Description:
The height of this plant is from 10 cm to 12 cm. The rhizome is thick, creeping, horizontal, brown in color, somewhat flattened, with numerous thin adventitious roots. Thickness up to 3 cm, whitish-pink inside, edible, with a pleasant spicy smell, somewhat reminiscent of cinnamon or tangerine. The stem is erect, green, unbranched, triangular, with sharp ribs. On the one hand, it is concave and forms, as it were, a longitudinal groove. A fleshy inflorescence (cob), the length of which traditionally does not exceed 12 cm, departs obliquely from the flowering stem. , bright green. They are located on the rhizome like a fan – like in irises. Flowers bisexual, small, greenish-yellow, with within a flower bed of 2 narrow scaly leaves. Stamens six, pistil one. The flowers are collected in cylindrical cobs from 4 to 12 cm long. A long (up to 50 cm) covering leaf (blanket) departs from the base of the cob. In the flowers, the stigmas first ripen, and the anthers open only after the stigmas lose their ability to perceive pollen. Fruits are multi-seeded dry (dryish) oblong berries of red or greenish color. Calamus is characterized by epizoochory: the fruits are distributed by animals. and the anthers open only after the stigmas lose their ability to perceive pollen. Fruits are multi-seeded dry (dryish) oblong berries of red or greenish color. Calamus is characterized by epizoochory: the fruits are distributed by animals. and the anthers open only after the stigmas lose their ability to perceive pollen. Fruits are multi-seeded dry (dryish) oblong berries of red or greenish color. Calamus is characterized by epizoochory: the fruits are distributed by animals.
Used for diseases:
gastritis, gastric and duodenal ulcers, nephrolithiasis and cholelithiasis, heartburn, fever, diarrhea, rheumatism, skin diseases, bronchitis and pneumonia, malaria and tuberculosis, toothache, neuroses, bronchial asthma.
Contains active substances:
Essential oil, bitter glycoside acorin, calamine alkaloid, tannins and resins, ascorbic acid.
Therapeutic use:
Calamus rhizomes containing up to 4.5% of an essential oil of a rather complex composition are medicinal raw materials; it is used in folk medicine for problems associated with the gastrointestinal tract: for gastric and duodenal ulcers, for intestinal disorders and flatulence, in the absence of appetite. Calamus is also used for bronchitis, pleurisy, cholelithiasis and kidney stones, irregular menstruation, pathological passage of menopause – and as a means of increasing sexual potency. Calamus is used in the form of a decoction as an aromatic bitterness that increases appetite and improves digestion, they are part of various collections, a collection for obtaining bitter tincture and collection according to the prescription of M. N. Zdrenko, in the composition of complex products vikair and vikalin used to treat peptic ulcer and gastritis.
Air preparation:
– Calamus tea: 2 teaspoons (approximately 3 g) of finely chopped, peeled calamus rhizome are poured into 1/4 liter of boiling water and infused for approximately 15 minutes. After straining, tea should be drunk lukewarm . – Calamus bath: for a calamus bath – if you do not use ready-made extracts – you need about 100 g of unpeeled calamus rhizomes, which are boiled for 10 minutes in 1 liter of water and then filtered. The expressed liquid is enough for one bathtub filled with water. Since these baths are stimulating, they should not be taken in the evening. Calamus baths have a beneficial effect on the body also in general exhaustion as a result of prolonged painful conditions and in all kinds of metabolic disorders. – Decoction of calamus:to prepare a decoction, you will need 15 g of dry chopped rhizomes per 0.5 l of water. place the rhizomes in a clean glass dish and fill with cold boiled water. After that, place the dish with calamus in a pot of boiling water, it will be necessary to stir the contents of the vessel regularly for 30 minutes. Then remove the vessel with calamus and after 10 minutes, without letting the contents cool down, strain. Can be used chilled. For adults, it is prescribed for a tablespoon per reception. Store the decoction in the refrigerator. It is not recommended to prepare a decoction for more than 3-4 days. – Alcohol tincture from Calamus:dried and crushed rhizomes of calamus are poured with ten times the weight of 70% of wine alcohol and tightly corked. Infusion lasts 10-12 days, during which it will be necessary to shake the contents of the vessel regularly. After this period, the tincture is filtered and taken 25-30 drops 3 times every day. The tincture is considered more effective, since it contains a greater number of medicinal properties of calamus rhizomes. – Calamus root powder: the dried rhizome is rubbed and used for heartburn, in a small amount (on the tip of a knife).
Collection and preparation:
It will be necessary to collect calamus rhizomes from mid-July to mid-October. They are pulled out of the ground with a pitchfork or dug up, washed off the remnants of the soil, cut off the leaves and roots at the base. To facilitate drying, thick rhizomes are cut lengthwise or in pieces of 10-12 cm and laid out in a shaded place for drying. rhizomes remain in the air for 1-2 days. Their further processing may be different. Sometimes the rhizomes, after drying, are cleaned of the cork layer and then dried, sometimes they are dried together with the cork layer. If calamus is needed for ingestion, it is cleaned from the bark before drying. In our country, rhizomes that are not peeled from cork are considered suitable, since they contain more active substances. Rhizomes should be dried in warm, dry, well-ventilated areas. When using a dryer, the temperature in it must not exceed 30 °. Well-dried rhizomes break with a crack when you try to bend them.
Side effects:
Despite the positive qualities of calamus, it is necessary to refrain from long courses of treatment with them, since b-azarone (in European species of calamus occurs only as traces) can have a negative effect. Do not use during pregnancy!