Scouringrush horsetail

Scouringrush horsetail is a species of horsetail with the scientific name Equisetum hyemale. It is a perennial and evergreen plant. They are native to North America, Siberia, Himalaya, Kamchatka, Korea, Japan, and China.

Their stems are very useful in many ways and can help maintain one's health. In early years, American settlers used it for pots and pans. Scouringrush horsetail stems are effective for fever, diuresis, colitis, enterohemorrhage, sore throat, tumor, and diarrhea remedy.

Anatomy
Scouringrush horsetails usually grow 30-60cm(2-3ft) in height and it can be about 100cm in height. They are leafless plant and take their roots in the ground limb from limb. Scouringrush horsetails have greenish stems that grow in array and erect. Their stems are round, thin and hollow. Most of their hollow stems are 5-7mm thick and have many jointed nodes such as bamboos. Usually, the upper jointed nodes are shorter than the lower jointed nodes. Each joints, there are ring-like sheath which is 1 inch long; these are often black, brown, or grey. It has 10-40 tiny teeth. They have very small cone-like structure which is pointed at stem tip. It is called a "strobilus" and it is about 1inch long. This ear of Sporangium make green reproductive spores.

Reproduction
The Scouringrush horsetails are unusual in having evergreen stems. They have a sporocyst of each tip stems; the sporocyst produces asexual plant spores. Its spores produce the flower cone. Scouringrush horsetails reproduce by these spores.

Ecology
The Scouringrush horsetails grow in damp soil; they need 1-2 buckets of water every weeks. Their roots have to be damped. Most Scouringrush horsetails grow in sandy stream banks and place where is wet and moist. We can find them easily nearby a valley of the mountain. They can live in any temperature and they are short-lived plant. Scouringrush horsetails are somewhat poisonous to animals. Young stems are usable as a potherb. Their stems have a lot of silica.

Raw material of collyrium
Scouringrush horsetails contain silica which is very useful in many kinds of medicines. One such medicine made from this horsetail is Collyrium, which is used as an eye wash. To make Collyrium first, we need 5-10g of bamboo-salt and digest it for 1-2 hours, and then add them with limpid water. They have to heat by 100℃ for 30-60 minutes and it becomes liquid. After that, cut the washed up Scouringrush horsetails and put 10-20g of them into the limpid water by 100℃ for 30-60 minutes. This also becomes liquid and combine them with bamboo-salt liquid. It is the recipe to make collyrium and we use them for our eyes very often. People use their silica in many ways such as lens and many different kinds of ornaments. Some ways, the scouringrush horsetail stems use in medicines.