Latin name: Equisetum arvense .

Description :
The 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 and grooved, hollow except at the joints and with air-cells in their walls under the grooves. There are no leaves, the joints terminating in toothed sheathes, the teeth corresponding with the ridges and representing leaves.Horsetail is a plant left over from prehistoric times. It does not flower but carries spores as do fern, to which it is related. Romans always used horsetrail to clean their pots and pans, not just to make them clean but also, thanks to the silica, to make them nonstick. In the Meddle Ages it was used as an abrasive by cabinetmakers, to clean pewter, brass, and copper, and for scouring wood containers and milk pans. Because it has been around so long it couldn't escape myth and magic. This herb has been associated with various goblins, toads and snakes, and the devil

In primeval time, the equisetum family of plants grew to the size of our present-day fir tree and there were huge forests full of them. The little horsetail of today is a replica of those trees.

Horsetail is a very common wild plant, which will grow in almost any type of soil. Horsetail is a hardy perennial. It grows to about 18 inches high. In the spring makes sure plant is under control, it spreads quickly. During the summer cut back plants that are beginning to die back to stop the spores spreading. After the harvest in the fall, cut down to the ground, again this stops the spores spreading. It is not recommended for the garden, but I like it. I have one clump of it that grows in a shade area on the west side of my home, right close to the outside water faucet. It is a strange plant Guess that is why I am attracted.

It is said that the only sane way to grow horsetail is in a container. Oh me…I am in trouble now. Horsetail is an excellent astringent for the genito-urinary system, reducing hemorrhage and healing wounds thanks to the high silica content. Whilst it acts as a mild diuretic, its toning and astringent actions make it invaluable in the treatment of incontinence and bed wetting in children. It is considered a specific in cases of inflammation or benign enlargement of the prostate gland. Externally it is a vulnerary. In some cases it has been found to ease the pain of rheumatism and stimulate the healing of chilblains.

It is advised that, if you wish to use horsetail, you do it only with consultation from a herbalist.

Horsetail is a storehouse of minerals and vitamins. A tea can be taken to enrich the blood, hardens the fingernails and revitalizes lifeless hair. It also is good for those white spots that occur on the finger nails, which indicate a calcium imbalance in the body.

Actions: anodyne, antibacterial, anticatarrhal, antihemorrhagic, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, antispasmodic, astringent, carminative, diuretic, emmenagogue, genitourinary astringent, hematogenic, hemostyptic, immunostimulant, increases calcium absorption, nutritive, skin alterative, tonic, vulnerary, weak diuretic, weight loss aid

Traditional use: albuminuria, anal fissures (external), anemia, arteriosclerosis, arthritis, asthma, bed-wetting, benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH), boil, broken bone, cancer (bone), circulatory disorders, cirrhosis, conjunctivitis, cystitis with hematuria, dacryocystitis, diabetes mellitus, diarrhea, dropsy, dyspepsia, edema, emphysema, enuresis, gallbladder disorders, gastric ulcer, glandular disorders, gleet, gonorrhea, gout, hair loss, hematuria, hemoptysis, hemorrhoids (external), incontinence, kidney stone, lithemia, lumbago, mastitis, menorrhagia, menstrual clots, muscle spasms, nosebleed, osteoporosis, poorly healing wounds, prostate gland disorders, prostatitis, rheumatism, rheumatoid arthritis, sprain, urethritis, urinary calculi