Cultural Symbolism
The calamus has long been a symbol of love. The name is associated with a Greek myth: Kalamos, son of the river-god Maeander, who loved the youth Karpos, of Zephyrus (the West Wind) and Chloris (Spring). When Karpos drowned in a swimming race, Kalamos also drowned and was transformed into a reed, whose rustling in the wind was interpreted as a sigh of lamentation.
The plant was a favorite of Henry David Thoreau (who called it "sweet flag"), and also of Walt Whitman, who added a section called the "Calamus" poems, to the third edition of Leaves of Grass (1860). In the poems the calamus is used as a symbol of love, lust, and affection.
The name Sweet Flag refers to its sweet scent (it has been used as a strewing herb) and the wavy edges of the leaves which are supposed to resemble a fluttering flag.
The root of the calamus (Tamil vasambu வசம்பு). This root is cut into disc-shaped beads, and made into bracelets, which are typically worn by newborns for the first few month. A vasambu bracelet is a symbol of a newborn baby in Tamil culture.
Read more about this topic: Acorus Calamus
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