Horsetails. Equisetum

Today's Sunday Challenge: A WEED APPRECIATION DAY!!

Equisetum is a "living fossil", the only living genus of the entire subclass Equisetidae. In the early spring, white to tan coloured fertile stems that produce spores, shown here, arise from the soil and grow to about 8-12 inches tall. They are unbranched, leafless and topped by a spore-bearing cone. These die down quickly and are followed by new shoots annually from underground rootstalks. Their hollow, jointed, ridged stems contain silicate and other minerals. The leaves are reduced to sheaths that clasp and encircle the shoots.

Another name for Horsetail is scouring-rush which refers to the rush-like appearance of the plants and to the fact that the stems are coated with abrasive silicates, making them useful for scouring (cleaning) metal items such as cooking pots.

It is sold on Amazon as it’s believed to have multiple medicinal properties and is mostly used to improve skin, hair, and bone health. However, despite centuries of use in traditional medicine, there is no evidence that Equisetum has any medicinal properties.

Equisetum is a pernicious weed, and is difficult to eradicate, due to its deep rooted nature and thick silica structure. . Herbicides give the best levels of control. Gardeners need to be careful with a weed like horsetail as not only does it spread via spores but it only takes a finger sized piece of root horsetail to regrow. It should be remembered that killing horse tail is not a quick fix and regular re-applications of herbicides and repeated ongoing cultural control may be needed.

My advice if you have these weeds in your garden? Move house! ;-)