Introduction: What kind of plant is the calamus hanging from house during the Dragon Boat Festival? Why hang calamus?
Unconsciously, it was the Dragon Boat Festival of another year. On June 3rd, the annual Dragon Boat Festival, the most widely spread custom on the mainland is to wrap rice dumplings, hang wormwood and calamus.
In the past, on the eve of the Dragon Boat Festival, every family would go to the wild to cut some wormwood and calamus, and some families would tie the dragon boat flowers, garlic and pomegranate flowers together with red rope and hang them at their own gate or by the window.
In recent years, there are fewer wild wormwood and calamus, especially in the city, more people are going to the market to spend money to buy, a few wormwood and calamus bundled into a hand, but can sell for 5-10 yuan. However, there are still many buyers, and many people still have to buy several at a time, which shows that everyone attaches great importance to the custom of the Dragon Boat Festival.
Yesterday, I introduced you to the wormwood plant. Today, let's talk about another kind of calamus that is usually unremarkable and is only valued by the Dragon Boat Festival. What kind of plant is it? Why does every household have to hang calamus during the Dragon Boat Festival? Let's take a quick look.
Calamus: A common but easily overlooked plant in rural areas
For the calamus plant, I believe that many rural babies have seen and know it. After all, it is not a rare plant, it is widely distributed in the countryside, and it can be seen near some rivers, ditches and ponds.
Calamus is also called white calamus, wild calamus, stinky calamus, mountain calamus, sword calamus, large calamus and so on. It is a perennial herb of the genus Calamus in the family Asteraceae. Yes, it is different from other plants, not a year old and a wither, but a perennial plant. If the environment for growth is suitable, it can live for tens or even hundreds of years, and it is a very long-lived plant.
Calamus also looks very distinctive, its leaves are based on life, and it looks like the swords used by the ancients. In the past, rural babies often used their leaves to play as swords, but it was very fragile, and the base leaf sheath was easy to fold. The roots underneath it are very thick, looking like an oversized centipede, with many root whiskers on it.
This is a plant that likes to grow in a watery environment, and in rural areas, it often grows in rivers, paddy fields, or swamps, and it is a large area when it grows, which is mainly related to its root system that likes to grow horizontally.
Why do I want to hang calamus during the Dragon Boat Festival?
Calamus is indeed not very noticeable in normal times, but when it comes to the Dragon Boat Festival, it has become a "sought-after commodity", and many people in the countryside will cut it back and hang it at the gate, and some business-minded people will cut it and take it to the city to sell for money.
The reason why we have to hang calamus during the Dragon Boat Festival, some places do not hang wormwood, but also must hang calamus, because it is the first of the "five ends of the sky".
In the eyes of the ancients, May is the "poisonous month", not only the poison is active, but the people will also have many disasters and difficulties, so in order to pray for peace, and let the family safely spend this period, so the ancients used "calamus, wormwood, pomegranate flower, garlic, dragon boat flower" These five plants, collectively known as the "five ends of heaven" to drive away evil and avoid diseases.
One of the most common practices is to hang wormwood, calamus, etc. in front of your home, or by a window. In ancient times, calamus was also made into shapes such as "little people" and "small gourds" and hung on the neck of children for auspiciousness. In some places, it will be drunk with calamus root, thinking that drinking it will lead to health and longevity.
However, it should be noted that calamus is a poisonous plant in the whole plant, and its rhizome is the most toxic, which is not suitable for direct use to brew wine.
Moreover, as the head of the "five ends of heaven", its leaves are shaped very much like ancient swords, so in the folk past, it was also called "water sword", saying that it can "kill thousands of evils". Hanging calamus at the door of the home during the Dragon Boat Festival can not only drive away evil spirits and avoid harm, but also kill the demons and ghosts in the world.
However, it is worth mentioning that in the countryside there is also a plant called calamus, although they are all plants of the genus Calamus in the family Tiannanxingxing, the difference between the two plants is still relatively large, and the stone calamus grows relatively short, and likes to grow on rocks with water. The Dragon Boat Festival generally hangs calamus, not stone calamus.
What is the value of calamus?
When I was a child, I always thought that hanging calamus during the Dragon Boat Festival was also a traditional custom, and I did not take it as a thing. However, after growing up, I understood that hanging calamus during the Dragon Boat Festival was not a feudal superstition, but had a certain scientific basis.
As we all know, when it comes to the Dragon Boat Festival, summer has arrived, during which it is rainy and humid, bacteria multiply fast, and all kinds of mosquitoes, flies and other bugs are more. The calamus plant is originally fragrant, it is rich in volatile oils, hanging it at the doorstep of the home does have different degrees of dispersal effect on common poisonous insects, mosquitoes and ants.
And these mosquitoes not only affect our lives, but also spread some diseases, especially in ancient times. If there are no poisonous insects, mosquitoes and ants, etc., health will be more secure.
At the same time, calamus has its own aroma, hanging it at the door of the house, will continue to secrete volatile aromatic oil, which makes people smell after the opening, expectorant, wind dissipation effect. Regarding the medicinal use of calamus, it has been recorded in the traditional Chinese medicine texts as early as the past. As a common Chinese herbal medicine in the folk, it mainly has the effect of dispelling wind and dehumidification, rationalizing qi and invigorating blood, and also has significant effects on pain, blood stasis, swelling and other symptoms caused by bruises.
For the medicinal value of calamus, the most impressive thing is to use it for bathing. When it comes to summer when they are young, children are prone to inexplicable itching and easy to grow prickly heat. Adults will cut the calamus back, and then use it to boil water, bathing children can play a good role in getting wet and itching, and washing regularly can also prevent long heat.
What is more worth mentioning is that in ancient times, calamus was not only loved by doctors, but also loved it by many literati. At that time, it was a very popular bonsai plant, and it was also called "Flowers and GrassEs" along with chrysanthemums, orchids, and daffodils, also known as "Gentlemen of Grass", and Su Shi, a great literary hero, was one of the hardcore fans of calamus bonsai.
Now many people also like to plant calamus as a bonsai, plant it in the yard, or indoors, not only has a high ornamental value, but also can secrete aromatic substances, both to drive away mosquitoes, purify the air, but also to make people calm and nootropic, to bring health to people's bodies, so some people praise calamus as a "diamond in the grass" is not exaggerated.
The Dragon Boat Festival is coming, if there are calamus in your hometown, remember to cut some and hang it in front of your home. Don't underestimate it, the value of calamus really can't be underestimated.