What is Horsetail?
Horsetail is a thin, and sterile perennial plant with a rhizomatous stem that looks like the tail of a bird or a horse. It is reproduced by its spores instead of the seeds. It is also known as Pewterwort (due to its use in polishing pewter and wood), Scouring Rush( due to the abrasive coating of silicates on its stems which was used for scouring metal pots). It's other common names are Shavegrass, Candock, Paddock pipes, Bottle brush, Horsetail Fern, Field Horsetail, Common Horsetail or Giant Horsetail. Ancient Greeks, Roman and Chinese herbalists have been using Horsetail for its health benefits for centuries. Aside from its health benefits, its leaves have been used for dyeing a soft green colour, the stalks were used to make whistles to call spirits, Indians used it to polish wooden tools, in Japan horsetail is still used as a finest sand paper to sand the wood before varnishing and in shampoos and cosmetics. However, horsetail is valued more for its health benefits due to a number of great minerals and other nutrients it contains, such as manganese, calcium, iron, flavonoids, caffeic acid esters, saponins, tannins, alkaloids, fatty acids, phytosterols, glycosides, phenolic acids, aconitic acid, and silica. Similar to Alfalfa plant, Horsetail is capable of absorbing unique minerals from the earth like Silica which are not found in many other plants.
