Genus: Equisetum
Common name: Rough horsetail. Snake grass. Scouring rush.
Family: Equisetaceae (Horsetail)
The name Equisetum means “horse bristle” in Latin. This perennial plant produces hollow reed-like stems that can grow up to 3 feet tall. Rough horsetail grows in moist habitats. Tiny leaves circle the stems at the joints. Like ferns, rough horsetail produce spores instead of flowers and pollen. It grows in clumps and spreads by underground runners. Because the ridged stems are rough, the plant has traditionally been used to scour pots and tin mugs. In Japan, the boiled and dried stems are used to smooth and polish wood in fine woodcraft. Short pieces of dried stems are used to shape the reeds used in reed instruments.
Equisetum is a small homeopathic remedy with an affinity for the urinary tract. It is one of several remedies used for urinary tract infections, specifically when pain is worse at the end of urination.
Keynotes:
- Constant desire to urinate and passes large quantities of clear urine without relief
- Pain or fullness in the bladder, even after voiding
- Pain in the kidneys
- Pricking, burning, cutting pains in urethra while urinating
- Cystitis
- Enuresis (bedwetting) of children without cause
- Retention of urine in pregnancy and after childbirth
- Incontinence in old women with involuntary stools
- Diabetes with frequent urination
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