Calamus

Origin

Asia, widely naturalised across Europe and North America

The smell

Warm, spicy, slightly medicinal, like ginger crossed with orris root

Key quality

A sedative and digestive aid. Asarone content is psychoactive at high doses, which is why the EU restricts its use in modern perfumery. One of the oldest documented medicinal plants, used in Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years.

Historical use

One of the sixteen ingredients in Kyphi. Used in Ayurvedic medicine as a brain tonic.