Horsetail is one of the oldest plants ever. In the garden it is considered a weed because it is difficult to control. Due to its ingredients, however, horsetail is very popular in naturopathy, cosmetics and as an ecological fertilizer and crop protection. A personal description.

Horsetail can be processed into healthy tea

Field horsetail - a profile!

  • Botanical name: Equisetum arvense
  • other names: horsetail, pancake, scouring herb, cat tail, ponytail
  • Plant Family: Horsetails
  • botanical family: ferns
  • Occurrence: Northern Hemisphere
  • Height: up to 50 cm
  • Location: compacted soils, indicator plant for high groundwater levels
  • Propagation: spores, underground runners
  • Flowers / flowering time: no flowers, spikes of spores bloom from May
  • Use natural remedies: rheumatism, gout, sore throat, inflammation
  • Use in the garden: fertilizer, plant protection product
  • Ingredients: silicic acid, minerals, essential oils

One of the oldest land plants ever

Field horsetail descends from horsetails, which have been around for around 400 million years. It is believed that the plant already existed on the primeval continent of Gondwana.

Based on fossil finds, it is likely that the original species could reach 30 meters in height.

Optical appearance of the field horsetail

Externally, field horsetail resembles a coniferous plant. The rungs are made up of tube-like sections that appear to be nested one on top of the other.

Like all ferns, horsetail does not develop flowers, but spikes of spores. They first appear from March to May and then retreat into the ground. Then the leaves of the field horsetail grow, which are green in color.

Field horsetail is not poisonous, in contrast to the marsh horsetail (Equisetum palustre), which poses a particular threat to grazing animals. You should therefore only pick field horsetail in nature if you are absolutely sure. Unfortunately, the two species can only be distinguished by a few characteristics.

Use of horsetail in naturopathy

Field horsetail can not only be used in the garden as fertilizer or plant protection, the herb also has its place in natural medicine. It contains, among other things:

  • silica
  • saponins
  • minerals
  • essential oils (camphor oil)

The herb is recommended dried or fresh for inflammation, rheumatism, gout and arthrosis, among other things.

tips

The field horsetail owes its name to the fact that it was used to clean and polish tin crockery in the past. The silicic acid crystals contained in the herb have a rough consistency and also dissolve stubborn dirt residues.

Category:

Herbs