A story in Nonnus's Dionysiaca tells about the love of two youths, Kalamos and Karpos.
[1] The acorus calamusare water reed which has a fragrant scent (more commonly known as Sweet Flag) is named after Calamus and this myth.
[2] Walt Whitman's "Calamus" poems in Leaves of Grass may have been inspired by this story.
[citation needed] Similar words can be found in Sanskrit (कलम kalama, meaning "reed" and "pen" as well as a type of rice), Hebrew (kulmus, meaning quill) and Latin (calamus) as well as the ancient Greek Κάλαμος (Kalamos).
[citation needed] The Swahili word kalamu ("pen") comes from the Arabic qalam.