 |
Scouringrush Horsetail
Equisetum hyemale |
This plant was actually used by early settlers to scour their pans. That seems very clever of them, but I suspect they learned that from the Native Americans, who used it as a sort of sandpaper, smoothing arrows, canoes, and anything else that needed sanding.
I will try using this plant to clean some pans someday and will let you know how well it works.
 |
| Neither the fertile nor the sterile stems are branched, unless broken |
 |
| Sterile stem on left, fertile on right |
 |
| The sheath tightly clasps the stem, as opposed to the very similar Smooth Horsetail, which spreads out from the stem |
