Calamus
Calamus , noun
[Latin, a reed. See Halm.]
1.
(Botany) The indian cane, a plant of the Palm family. It furnishes the common rattan. See Rattan, and Dragon's blood.
2.
(Botany) A species of Acorus (Acorus calamus), commonly called calamus, or sweet flag. The root has a pungent, aromatic taste, and is used in medicine as a stomachic; the leaves have an aromatic odor, and were formerly used instead of rushes to strew on floors.
3.
(Zoology) The horny basal portion of a feather; the barrel or quill.