Common horsetail (Equisetum arvense)

Gitxsan name: 'maawin
Wet'suwet'en name:  khikh de'

Botanical Description

• erect annual
• fertile stems are unbranched, usually thick and succulent, brownish to whitish up to 50 cm tall, large brown pointed sheath
• sterile stems are solitary or clustered, much branched, slender and green with green sheaths                                                                                                                 
• found in moist to wet forests, meadows, swamps, fens and alpine seepage areas, often weedy
• lowlands to alpine elevations

Photo courtesy of Jim Pojar (58kB)

Ethnobotanical Use

The rough stems of the horsetail were used like sandpaper to smooth and polish surfaces of wooden objects such as canoes, dishes, arrow shafts and gambling sticks. Also used as a decoction for bladder and kidney complaints with other traditional medicinal plants.