# Acorus gramineus, an awesome plant for riparium compositions



## seds (Jan 30, 2009)

Very nice. It kind of looks like _Dracaena_ but with no woody stem.

Is that sweet-flag? Does it smell sweet?


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

seds said:


> Very nice. It kind of looks like _Dracaena_ but with no woody stem.
> 
> Is that sweet-flag? Does it smell sweet?


yep, _Acorus_ is sweet flag. it is often sold as a true aquatic for use in aquariums, where it will eventually drown and perish. however, it grows really well as an emergent. i have a blog post with a description of its use in ripariums too.



> SWEETFLAG (ACORUS GRAMINEUS)
> Genus Acorus contains just a few species of grass-like wetland plants. Most commercially-available sweetflags are cultivar varieties of A. gramineus, which is native to East Asia. These plants have a range of sizes and leaf colorations. The dwarf varieties (e.g., ‘Minimus Aureus’) are too small to be of much use in ripariums. Look for the selections that grow from 10″ to 15″ tall. Two varieties with green + yellow pin-striped leaves, ‘Oborozuki’ and ‘Ogon’ have grown into beautiful specimens in my ripariums.


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