Sweet Flag

Thirty (bottom half). Volume 7 of the Youjin Materia Medica?

Sweet Flag original: 菖蒲 (chāngpú); Acorus calamus. This aquatic plant is celebrated in traditional medicine for its aromatic properties and its ability to "open the heart orifices" and sharpen the senses.

Pharmacopeia original: 本草 (běncǎo). Literally "roots and herbs," this term refers to the traditional Chinese compendiums of materia medica that categorize and describe the medicinal properties of plants, minerals, and animal products.

The illustration depicts the Sweet Flag plant in its entirety. The upper portion shows several clusters of long, slender, sword-shaped leaves that grow in dense fans. Below, the artist has meticulously rendered the thick, knotted creeping rhizome system, which is the primary part of the plant used for medicinal preparations.

In traditional Chinese culture, Sweet Flag is frequently paired with Mugwort during the Dragon Boat Festival; its sword-like leaves are hung on doorways to symbolically ward off evil spirits and pestilence.