Plants of the Dinosaurs - Horsetail

At the dawn of the age of Dinosaurs in the Triassic period (360 million years ago) the forests held ferns, club mosses, gymnosperms and Horsetails. No Flowering plants. I love to tell the children that visit our garden that the dinosaurs munched on these plants. Horsetail, Equiseteum is often confused with cattails or bamboo. Horsetail tea is a mild diuretic. It is sometimes called scouring brush because it has a rough feel to it and was used to scrub pans. It has also been used as a fine finishing sandpaper by woodworkers. Rich in silica it is healthy for your hair and nails as well. This plant prefers a damp area on the edge of a pond or we planted it near our neighbors leaky downspout. Be forewarned: Once it is happy in your garden it will spread! And we don't have any dinosaurs to munch it down!