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.
This digital collection was produced under contract to the SchoolNet
Digital Collection Program, Industry Canada.
Revised: 08/21/98
