HORSETAIL GRASS
(Equisetum arvense)
scouring rush, Joint grass, shave grass, bottle brush, pewterwort

Description: Stems spring from a creeping rhizome or root-stock which produces, at its joints, a number of roots. Two kinds of stems are produced, fertile and barren. They are erect, jointed, brittle, grooved, hollow except at the joints. There are no leaves. Barren horsetail 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. Fertile horsetail grows upward in one bare stalk bearing a terminal cone-like catkin. Canada, northern U.S. to California.

Edible, Medicinal: Young heads are eaten 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 Diuretic, astringent. Barren stems, after the fruiting stems have died down and used either fresh, which is best, or dried, in a fluid extract helps in edema, kidney and bladder problems, bedwetting, offensive perspiration, foot odor, old or gangrenous ulcers. Strengthens nails, hair, enriches the blood, promotes regrowth, elasticity of tissues, arthritis, ulcers and eczema. Ashes are valuable in helping with acidity of the stomach, to stop bleeding. For external use simmer gently for 1/2 hour and apply as hot as can be borne.

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