calamus
The perfume plant
Do you think it would be fun to have leaves on the floor of your house
instead of a rug?
Long ago, people in Europe and early settlers in America would gather
leaves of the calamus plant. They dried the leaves in the sun. Then they
covered the floors of their houses with the leaves. The leaves had a
nice, sweet smell that made a house smell good.
If you live near a pond, a stream, or a marsh, you might try drying some
calamus leaves. Look for calamus—it is also called sweet flag—in
shallow water. You’ll know it by its long, swordlike leaves.
Long ago, people often gathered calamus leaves to put on the floors of
their houses.
