Bach / Sweet Flag
Acorus calamus
Also known as Sweet Root
- Habit
- Herb
- Found in India
- Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh & more
- Flowering
- February-July
How to identify Bach
Identify Bach by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a herb habit.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Aromatic iris-like leaves and rhizome (sweet flag).
- Confirm leaf shape: Linear (long and narrow, parallel sides).
- Confirm leaf margin: Undulate.
- Confirm fruit type: Berry.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: February-July.
- In India, compare location records such as Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and nearby regions.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Acorus calamus
- Genus
- Acorus
- Family
- Araceae
- Habit
- Herb
- Habitat
- Water bodies
- Habitat type
- Wetland
- Native to
- Eurasia, North and Central America
- Distribution
- North temperate hemisphere and Tropical Asia
- Found in India
- Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala, Punjab, Uttarakhand, West Bengal
- Flowering & fruiting
- February-July
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (LC)
Leaf characters
- Leaf shape
- Linear (long and narrow, parallel sides)recorded
- Leaf margin
- UndulaterecordedA wavy, rippled edge.“The leaves have smooth edges, which can be wavy or crimped.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Leaf surface
- GlabrousrecordedSmooth, hairless.“The leaves have smooth edges, which can be wavy or crimped.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Leaf venation
- ParallelrecordedVeins run alongside each other from base to tip without branching (typical of grasses and other monocots).“The leaves are erect yellowish-brown, radical, with pink sheathing at their bases, sword-shaped, flat and narrow, tapering into a long, acute point, and have parallel veins.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Basal
Characters marked “recorded” are for Bach itself; the rest are typical of the Araceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Fruit type
- BerryrecordedA fleshy fruit with seeds embedded directly in the pulp, no central stone.“The fruit is a berry filled with mucus, which when ripe falls into the water and disperses by floating.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
- Inflorescence
- Spike
Characters marked “recorded” are for Bach itself; the rest are typical of the Araceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- बच Bach, घोरबच Ghorbach, सफ़ेद बच Safed bach
- Nepali
- बोझो
- Bengali
- Bach, Ghorabach, বচ
- Tamil
- Vashambu, Pullai-valathi, வசம்பு
- Kannada
- ಬಜೆ Baje, ವಚ Vacha, ಅತಿಬಜೆ Athibaje
- Malayalam
- Vaembu, Vashampa, വയമ്പ്
- Marathi
- वेखंड Vekhand, वेखंड
About Bach
Sweet Flag (Acorus calamus) is a herb in the Araceae family. In India it has been recorded in Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and 5 other states. It grows in water bodies. Flowering and fruiting run from February to July.
Uses
Locally it is grown for parts that are eaten, long used in traditional medicine and planted as an ornamental. Those medicinal uses are traditional attributions, not medical advice. Parts of this plant are reported as poisonous — treat it as unsafe to eat and wash your hands after handling.
In culture
It is treated as sacred and appears in worship.
Araceae
Arum family
Bach belongs to the Araceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Araceae familySnap it. Know it.
Point your camera at Bach or any plant and SASYA identifies it instantly — on-device, offline, and private.
Common plant problems
If you are starting from symptoms instead of a diagnosis, use the plant disease symptom checker to narrow the cause before treating.
All plant problem & care guides