Equisetum telmateia
| Equisetum telmateia | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 6 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 7' |
| Blooms: | Early Spring |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Equisetum telmateia (common name: giant horsetail)
Propagation: Spores - best collected as soon as they are ripe in the spring and surface-sown immediately on a sterile compost. Keep moist and pot up as soon as the plants are large enough to handle. Very difficult[1].
Division. The plants usually spread very freely when well sited and should not really need any assistance.
Cultivation: Prefers a moist soil with a pH between 6.5 and 7.5[1].
Plants are hardy to about -30°c[1].
Plants have a deep and penetrating root system and can be invasive. If grown in the garden they are best kept in bounds by planting them in a large container which can be sunk into the ground[1].
Range: Europe, including Britain, from Sweden south and east to N. Africa and W. Asia, N.W. N. America.
Habitat: Damp shady banks etc, to 350 metres[2].
Edibility: Strobil (the fertile shoots in spring) - raw or cooked[3]. The tough outer fibres are peeled off, or can be chewed and then discarded[3].
The vegetative shoots, produced from late spring onwards, were occasionally cleaned of their leaves, sheathing and branches and then eaten by native North American Indians, but only when very young and tightly compacted[3].
Root - cooked[4].
Medicinal: The plant is astringent and diuretic[4]. A decoction has been used to treat 'stoppage of urine'[4]. A poultice of the rough leaves and stems is applied to cuts and sores[4].
Usage: The stems are very rich in silica[5]. They are used for scouring and polishing metal[6][5][7][8][9][4] and as a fine sandpaper[10][9][4]. The stems are first bleached by repeated wetting and drying in the sun[11]. They can also be used as a polish for wooden floors and furniture[7][12].
The infused stem is an effective fungicide against mildew, mint rust and blackspot on roses[13]. It also makes a good liquid feed[10]. Used as a hair rinse it can eliminate fleas, lice and mites[14].
The black roots have been used for imbrication on coiled baskets[4].
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Seed Ripens: Mid Spring
Known Hazards: Large quantities of the plant can be toxic. This is because it contains the enzyme thiaminase[15], a substance that can rob the body of the vitamin B complex[16]. In small quantities this enzyme will do no harm to people eating an adequate diet that is r
Also Known As: E. maximum. auct.
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References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Turner, Nancy. Food Plants of Coastal First Peoples. UBC Press Vancouver, 1995.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Turner, Nancy. Plants in British Columbian Indian Technology. British Columbia Provincial Museum, 1979.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Hatfield, Audrey. How to Enjoy your Weeds. Frederick Muller Ltd, 1974.
- ↑ Komarov, Vladimir. Flora of the USSR. Gantner Verlag, 1968.
- ↑ Stuart, George. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei Southern Materials Centre.
- ↑ Hylton, Josie and William Holtom. Complete Guide to Herbs. Rodale Press, 1979.
- ↑ Weiner, Michael. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books, 1980.
- ↑ Schofield, Janice. Discovering Wild Plants.
- ↑ Frohne, Dietrich and Hans Pfänder. J. A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. Timber Press, 1984.