Horsetail

Horsetail, Equisetum L., horsetail, field pine. Field horsetail, Equisetum arvense L., a plant of the horsetail family (Equisetaceae). Found throughout Europe in moist and sandy places. The herb of this plant, Herba Equiseti minoris, was previously used as a diuretic. The dried sterile stems that appear in summer after the fruit-bearing stems have died and develop rings consisting of 10-15 four-angled branches are used. The herb is collected from July to September. Other species of horsetail: Equisetum hiemale L., winter horsetail; the stems of this plant, Herba Equisetatis majoris, are used in medicine together with Folia Digitalis, but usually carpenters use them for polishing wood; Equisetum ramosissimum, branched horsetail, is used in Manchuria as an astringent. Field horsetail is a common folk remedy for gout, rheumatism, and kidney diseases.