Calamus (sweet flag, aromatic cane, sweet cane, ginger grass)

The Hebrew word qaneh /qeneh means “cane” or “stalk”; tov means “good”; bosem means “spicy.” There are three general options for the identity of qaneh. Many botanists have held that this word refers to any of three or four sweet-smelling grasses of the genus Cymbopogon, one of which grows wild in Israel. That would be one option. Another is that it was imported from India, where other fragrant types of Cymbopogon were and are cultivated, such as Ginger Grass Cymbopogon martinii, Camel Grass Cymbopogon schoenanthus, and Lemon Grass Cymbopogon citratus. Of these, Zohary and Moldenke both favor “ginger grass,” which is also called “sweet calamus.” However, the real Calamus Acorus calamus is a third possibility. It is a reed-like plant, more popularly known as the “sweet flag.” The origin of this plant is hotly debated, but it may have started from India and spread in marshy ground across Europe, picking up names like flagroot, myrtle flag, myrtle sedge, sweet root, and sweet sedge. The Egyptologist Joret believes it was used by the Pharaohs. The botanist Burkill holds that the Greeks used the ginger-like roots of the sweet flag, but confused them with the roots of the true ginger grass, leaving a legacy of confusion behind them (Hepper, page 144).