Equisetum spp. - Horsetails

Horsetails are ancient, spore-producing plants with jointed stems. They are used in traditional medicine for their diuretic properties and in horticulture for their ability to thrive in wet conditions.

Inputs

• Hardiness zone 3¹
• Hardiness zone 4¹
• Hardiness zone 5¹
• Hardiness zone 6¹
• Hardiness zone 7¹
• Hardiness zone 8¹
• Hardiness zone 9¹
• Hardiness zone 10¹
• Hardiness zone 11¹
• Full sun¹
• Semi-shade¹
• Moist soil¹

Outputs

• Human food¹
• Medicinal use¹

Type

• Herb
• Perennial

Functions

• Potassium accumulator²
• Calcium accumulator²
• Magnesium accumulator²
• Iron accumulator²
• Cobalt accumulator²
• Silicon accumulator²

Footnotes

1. Equisetum arvense | Plants for a Future ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴

2. Gaia’s Garden - A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture, 2nd Edition Table 6-2 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶