Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Calami"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Calamus \Cal"a*mus\, n.; pl. {Calami}. [L., a reed. See {Halm}.]
1. (Bot.) The indian cane, a plant of the Palm family. It
furnishes the common rattan. See {Rattan}, and {Dragon's
blood}.
2. (Bot.) A species of {Acorus} ({A. 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. (Zo["o]l.) The horny basal portion of a feather; the
barrel or quill.
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