These Herbs are All Wet

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The very tastiest cattails are the ones that have not come up above the water yet. Harvesting them means wading in the water in February and cutting the stalks below the water level. I’ve done it and it’s not as unpleasant as it may seem. But then, I live in Arkansas. Readers in Minnesota might have a different experience. Washed, steamed and served with a bit of butter, these tender stalks taste like the sweetest sweet corn.

Sweet flag (Acorus americanus) is a North American native plant that forms colonies along the edges of ponds, in wet fields and drainage areas.

A. calamus is a native of Europe, naturalized in Britain and is similar to our American sweet flag. You easily can grow either of these sweet flag varieties in containers of soil along the edge of your pond, much as you grow cattails (although cattails require a deeper soil and can withstand deeper water).

Sweet flag historically has been used as medicine for indigestion, stomachaches, colds and coughs. American Indians are said to have carried pieces of the dried roots on long journeys and nibbled the pieces as a stimulant and to assuage thirst. In India, the roots are considered aphrodisiac, while folk uses in Europe include using the roots as a substitute for cinnamon and ginger. The mature leaves repel insects when crushed and rubbed on the skin, and have been used in churches as strewing herbs (herbs strewn on the floors to scent the room when walked on) — two uses, which may or may not be connected. I attended a wedding where sweet flag covered the floor and the room was deliciously aromatic as the wedding party walked on the sweet, spicy leaves. In American frontier times, the leaves and dried roots were used to scent cupboards and clothes closets.

The rootstocks, which grow horizontally, can be candied (similar to candying orange peel), or made into soup. Inner leaf stems are used raw in salads, and the florets can be used along with the roots in soups.

Caution: Not all flags are created equal, so don’t confuse sweet flag with blue flag (wild iris, Iris spp.). Wild iris roots are odorless, taste bad and are poisonous. Sweet flag roots smell great and have a sweet flavor when touched to the end of the tongue. Wild iris/blue flag also have dull, blue-green, odorless leaves; sweet flag leaves are aromatic, glossy and yellowish green. It’s easy to distinguish between the two if you observe the differences in the plants and the fragrance.

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