Calamus, Sweet Cane or spices are generally identified as ginger grass

Ginger grass

Andropogon aromaticus (natural order name)

There were two general classifications of cane in Scripture. Some were utilized for smell and others for taste. For their scent, calamus, sweet cane and spices were all terms used for cane. Exodus 30, I Kings 10, Song of Solomon 4, Jeremiah 6, and Ezekiel 27 refer to scented plants. Walker is of the opinion that these are Ginger Grass and says they could not be Acorus calamus since it originally came from North America, therefore would not be known in Bible times.

Some experts do identify these scent-producing plants as Acorus calamus, with an explanation that they were imported from India and elsewhere. It was among the items available in the markets of Tyre. The knotty stalk is dried and made into a powder. Expensive, rare perfumes are derived from it.

Taxonomy is certainly not an exact science. One botanist may identify a plant as one species while another will use different genus or species for identification purposes. Lemon grass or ginger grass is such a specimen. Easton Bible Dictionary referred to the lemon grass or ginger grass as Andropogon schoenanthus.

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