Horsetail Grass
(Equisetum arvense)
field horsetail

Description: The stems spring from a creeping rhizome or root-stock which produces, at its joints, a number of roots. has a single thin stem which resembles the trunk of a tiny pine with the green shoots that branch out from it in a series of levels Scouring Rush or Greataer Horsetail (Equisetum hyemale) has ribbed stems and apparently leafless, erect, jointed, brittle, grooved, and hollow except at the joints and grows upward in one bare stalk bearing a terminal cone-like catkin. Found in moist, sandy soils, along stream banks and pond edges.

Edible, Medicinal: Both species are essentially the same, but Greater Horsetail is considered the stronger and the young heads are eaten either boiled or pickled. Eating the older heads raw can be poisonous. The gritty, silica-coated surfaces of the older plants were used for scrubbing pans after an outdoor meal. The whole plant is a diuretic and astringent. Barren stems, after the fruiting stems have died down, are used either fresh, which is best, or dried in a fluid extract. It helps in edema, kidney and bladder problems, bedwetting, offensive perspiration, foot odor, old or
gangrenous ulcers. Strengthens the nails, hair, enriches the blood, promotes regrowth, elasticity of tissues, arthritis, ulcers and eczema. For external use, simmer the plant gently for 1/2 hour and apply as hot as can be borne. Ashes are valuable in helping with acidity of the stomach and to stop bleeding.