Scouring-rush (Equisetum hyemale)

Gitxsan name: hiss-'maawin (pretending 'maawin)
Wet'suwet'en name: lawzi

Botanical Description

• up to 1.5 metres tall, 18-40 ridged, rough stems, whitish green, evergreen with sheaths that are green to ashy gray
• short-stalked, pointed and persistent cones
• found in moist to wet sites, especially along major streams and rivers
• low to moderate elevations

Photo courtesy of Blain Andrusek (44kB)

Ethnobotanical Description

The Gitxsan hunters would drink the sweet liquid that oozes out from cut stems for clean water while hunting in the woods. The rough skin was also used as sandpaper on wooden instruments. The Wet'suwet'en drank a decoction made of the stems for kidney disorders and as a diuretic.

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