HORSETAIL
equisetum arvense

Adverse Effects & Toxicity

Medicinal Properties

ACTIONS
astringent
diuretic
vulnerary

Uses in Folklore
Several species of horsetail have been used medicinally since early Roman times.

It is an excellent astringent for the genito-urinary system.

Herbalists often combine this herb with hydrangea
in the treatment of prostate troubles.

Horsetail Contains
calcium
copper
fatty acids
fluorine
selenium
nicotine
aconitic acid
equisitine
PABA
sodium
starch
vitamin B
zinc

Horsetail is rich in "beauty" nutrients that nourish the nails, skin, hair,
bones and the body's connective tissue.
It benefits the glands and urinary tract.

Horsetail helps heal fractured bones because of its rich supply of nutrients.

The extensive root system of horsetail (equisetum arvense)
makes controlling it a very difficult prospect.
Landscape fabrics or black plastic mulch can effectively prevent horsetail growth.
Few herbicides are capable of killing off these weeds.
Casoron (dichlobenil) can be used but it's safe use
is dependent on the situation in which horsetail grows.
(It should NOT be used in an area which also produces food crops)
Before you use any herbicide READ THE LABEL to ensure it is registered
to use for your situation.
Follow label directions!
Be aware that if you try to remove the horsetails by digging or cultivating,
you may be doing nothing more than propagating new plants.
Any portion of the rhizomes left in the soil will regenerate!

It may be an old wives tail, but I've been told that a tea made
from dried horsetail leaves is useful to control slugs!

`These are the spore-producing shoots of equisetum arvense (Field Horsetail).
Not a moss; not a fungus [two of our other guesses: DHD].
Closest living relatives are the ferns; ancestors included one of the main
coal-building plants of the Carboniferous period, Calamites.
The fertile shoots appear early in the year, before the leaves,
which are green and feathery, rather like miniature pine trees.
It is a pernicious weed, almost impossible to eradicate once established.
The rhizomes go down a metre or two into the soil.
See my article (and Pat Halliday's illustrations)
in the Millennium number of the Richmond Park Magazine.''


SOURCE(S)
Cherokee Valley
DHD Multimedia Gallery
Herb Med
Herbal Remedies
The Garden Helper



03012003