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Acorus gramineus 'Golden Lion' (Golden Lion Calamus) - Grass-like perennial that grows to 6-12 inches tall and spreads slowly by rhizomes with thin iris-like arching foliage with rich golden yellow colored foliage. Tiny, insignificant, yellow-green flowers bloom from spring to early summer on lateral, sedge-like flower spikes but these really are hardly noticeable.
Plant in cool coastal full to part sun to light shade in soil that is moist or regularly irrigated. In a pond the water depth should be right at the soil line or up to 2 to 4 inches above crown. It is cold hardy to USDA Zone 5 (-10°F). A useful plant massed as a small-scale groundcover or as an accent container plant or to light up a dark area of the pond.
Acorus gramineus 'Golden Lion' is an all-gold selection from the yellow variegated Acorus gramineus 'Ogon' that was selected and named by Luen Miller and introduced at his Monterey Bay Nursery in 2011. The species Acorus gramineus, commonly called grassy-leaved sweet flag, is native to wetland areas of China, Japan, Korea, India, Thailand, Myanmar and the Philippines. The name for the genus was one that Theophrastus, the Greek considered to be the "father of botany", used for a plant with an aromatic rhizome. The specific epithet comes from the Latin word meaning "grass".
The genus Acorus is considered to be one of the most primitive of the monocots still in existence. Historically it was recognized as an aberrant genus within the arum family (Araceae), which includes such plants as Calla Lily and Taro, but much evidence, including the absence of a spathe common to aroids, supports its treatment as a separate family and it is now placed in its own family, the Acoraceae. We first started growing this nice little plant in 2023.
The information displayed on this page about Acorus gramineus 'Golden Lion' is based on the research we have conducted about it in our nursery library as well as from information provided by reliable online resources. We also include our own observations made about this plant as it grows in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant have performed in the containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we have received from others and welcome hearing from anyone with information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information that will aid others to better grow it.
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