Horsetail
Parts Usually Used
Sterile stems, best used fresh but can be dried.
Description of Plant(s) and Culture
A perennial plant with creeping underground stems. From these in summer grow jointed, grooved, sterile stems with whorls of jointed branches. At each joint there is a toothed sheath with black tips on the teeth. Brown jointed fertile stems appear before the sterile stems: they bear terminal cones. Spring up in April and catkins bloom in July, seeds in August, perishes down to the ground in fall.
Some varieties of Equisetum are poisonous. Care should be taken to identify if collecting in the wild. Not a very pretty plant.
Where Found
Fond in damp places, in fields and meadows, woods, on roadsides; it can be a persistent weed. Throughout North America.
Medicinal Properties
Diuretic, astringent, hemostatic, alterative, diaphoretic, anti-inflammatory, styptic
Biochemical Information
Aconitic acid, calcium, copper, equisitine, fatty acids, fluorine, nicotine, PABA, silica, sodium, starch, vitamin B5 and zinc.
Legends, Myths and Stories
According to one reference, some 200 million years ago the horsetail grass was a family of tree size plants, growing with gigantic clubmosses and ferns in a strange world of steaming bogs, swamps and shallow lakes. The plants in this period of time were huge but short lived. Today it is an insignificant dwarf among flowering vegetation of an entirely different plant world. In Europe horsetail grass is known as Pewterwort because of its use for polishing pewter utensils, other metals, wood utensils, cabinets, etc.
The Native Americans used horsetail grass to polish their arrow shafts. Used today in many herbal beauty products for skin, nails, and hair.
Uses
Historically, herbalists employed horsetail as a diuretic and administered it for complaints such as edema, nephritis, gallstones, kidney stones, cystitis, and bedwetting. Practitioners believed the plant could strengthen the hair, nails, bones, and teeth, and that it supported healthy skin and calcium absorption. It was traditionally prescribed for intestinal disorders, diarrhea, dysentery, rheumatism, arthritis, gout, prostate conditions, coughs, and chest congestion, as well as to staunch nosebleeds, heavy menstruation, and hemorrhoidal hemorrhage.
Externally, traditional preparations included poultices, washes, and gargles aimed at arresting bleeding, promoting the repair of broken bones and connective tissue, and soothing wounds. Added to bathwater or applied as a lotion, horsetail was used with the intention of calming pain, itches, rashes, and cutaneous sores, as well as managing oily skin and white spots on nails. Herbalists also recommended an oil derived from the plant for brittle fingernails, and steam inhalations were traditionally utilized for nasal and respiratory congestion.
Native American traditions included applying the ashes of the burned plant to sore mouths. Beyond its medicinal lore, the abrasive stems were historically utilized as scouring pads for pots and pans.
Warning
Horsetail is toxic if taken in large doses. Some varieties of Equisetum are poisonous. Care should be taken to identify if collecting in the wild. Seek professional care if there is blood in the urine or for sudden changes in menstrual flow leading to heavy bleeding. Horsetail is banned in Canada, except in products where thiaminase-like compounds present in the herb are removed.
Bibliography
Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants , by Steven Foster and James A. , Simon & Schuster/Fireside, Rockefeller Center 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020 The Herbalist Almanac , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, copyright 1988, fifth printing, 1994 Culpeper’s Complete Herbal & English Physician: Updated With 117 Modern Herbs , by Nicholas Culpeper, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1990, (reprint of 1814) The Nature Doctor: A Manual of Traditional and Complementary Medicine , by Dr.
A. , 27 Pine Street (Box 876) New Canaan, CT. 06840-0876. Copyright Verlag A. , Pantheon Books, Knopf Publishing Group, New York, 1994, first edition The Magic of Herbs , by David Conway, published by Jonathan Cape, Thirty Bedford Square, London, England. , Lotus Press, PO Box 325, Twin Lakes. , Copyright 1988, published 1992 The Complete Medicinal Herbal , by Penelope Ody, Dorling Kindersley, Inc, 232 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, First American Edition, copyright 1993 Indian Herbalogy of North America , by Alma R.
, Horticultural Hall, 300 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, 1973 American Folk Medicine , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1973 Prescription for Nutritional Healing, Fifth Edition: A Practical A-to-Z Reference to Drug-Free Remedies Using Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs & Food Supplements , by James F. D. and Phyllis A. , 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023 An Instant Guide to Medicinal Plants , by Pamela Forey and Ruth Lindsay, Crescent Books (January 27, 1992).
The Yoga of Herbs: An Ayurvedic Guide to Herbal Medicine , by Dr. David Frawley & Dr. Vasant Lad, Lotus Press, Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, Second edition, 1988. , Special Sale Catalog, 1996 The Rodale Herb Book: How to Use, Grow, and Buy Nature’s Miracle Plants (An Organic gardening and farming book) , edited by William H. Hylton, Rodale Press, Inc. , 1974