There are about 30 plant species called horsetail. They are scattered around the world, with the exception of Australia and New Zealand. Horsetail - a rhizome herbaceous perennial plant. This species is distinguished by the presence of shoots consisting of various segments (internodes) and nodes with a whorled arrangement of leaves. The photosynthesis function is performed by green stems and branches. Propagated mainly by rhizomes, as well as spores. There are two types of shoots: brown-pink, branched, appear in early spring and die after sporulation, or green, not much different from vegetative ones. In a plant such as forest horsetail, spores are equipped with a hygroscopic tape (elater) that fastens a large number of them into circular-like nodules that are carried by the wind for quite considerable distances. Sporangia are placed on corymbose sporangiophores, having a hexagonal shape and collected in the apical part of spikelets.
The horsetail got its name for its similarity to the ponytail. The only thing necessary for its normal development and growth is a sufficient amount of moisture in the soil. If humidity is limited, then it can exist in relatively shallow groundwater. In areas with disturbed vegetation, horsetail can form large thickets. It also grows well in acidic soils (pH indicator).
Rhizome weighs more than aerial shoots, so the horsetail plant is difficult to eradicate. Some of its species are toxic to livestock. In cows that eat hay with a high content, milk production is significantly reduced, depletion, a drop in milk fat are observed, and the growth of wool is suppressed. Other species of this plant, by contrast, are very suitable for livestock feed. Interestingly, animals eat horsetail in severe frosts. This is due to the ability of this plant to change its composition of chemical elements during the year (starch accumulated during the summer with the onset of cold weather turns into sugar). For humans, most types of horsetail are not dangerous. If you cook such a plant, then it is pretty good in taste. By the way, horsetail dishes do exist. Nevertheless, at present they have almost forgotten about them, but once in the northern regions the inhabitants of Russia knew many dishes from this herb. Methods of creating medicinal infusions and decoctions from such a plant have come down to our time. Horsetail, a photo of which can be seen in almost all book editions about medicinal herbs, continues to be used in the treatment of diseases of the excretory system.
In medicine, quite often another type of such plant is also used - it is field horsetail. Doses of additives should be in strict accordance with the doctor's testimony, because some of its substances have the ability to adversely affect health in case of an overdose. Horsetail grass is saturated with substances that have valuable healing properties. These are mineral salts of calcium and potassium, tannins and acids - malic and oxalic. However, the most valuable compounds are silicic acids of slightly soluble forms.
