In prehistoric days, this plant grew to tree heights, but today this native North American reaches only a few feet in height with stems 1/4 to 1/2" in diameter. From dry sand to swampy land, horsetail grass thrives in any soil type. Not particular about light conditions, this herb can be considered a living fossil. The invasive nature of this plant requires that you give it a lot of growing room.

Horsetail's unusual reed stems contain silica crystals which gives them an abrasive quality, similar to fine emery cloth. Horsetail is superb for fine sanding of wood or metal, and can even be used to file fingernails. The reeds for instruments such as the clarinet, saxophone and oboe are shaped and finished by sanding them with horsetail grass. Early cabinetmakers also used horsetail on their prized works, which gave the wood a fine finish and a patina.

The folk name for horsetail grass is "pewterwort," for it was used in cleaning and polishing pewter and other metals. Irish women discovered that sanding their famous meerschaum pipes with horsetail grass under water produced a glass-like finish.

Bonnet Carre' Spillway
Norco
Louisiana