Witnessed by: TCM · Western · Unani
Horsetail (Equisetum arvense), of the Equisetaceae family. Spore-bearing perennial fern-ally with jointed hollow stems and whorled needle branches; native range: damp fields, banks and waste ground throughout the northern temperate world. Globally recognized as wen jing (問荊) in Chinese, zanab-ul-khail (ذنب الخيل) in Arabic, and field horsetail, bottlebrush, shave-grass, pewterwort in English. The part used is sterile green aerial stem. Ridged, jointed, hollow green stems, rough and gritty with silica, near-tasteless but faintly astringent and mineral.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
HORSETAIL
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Horsetail
- Scientific name
- Equisetum arvense L.
- Family
- Equisetaceae
Form
- Part used
- sterile green aerial stem
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- sweet · bitter
- Western
- astringent · bitter
- Unani
- astringent
Temperature
- TCM
- cool
- Western
- cool (& dry)
- Unani
- cold (& dry, 2nd degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Lung · Bladder
- Western
- kidneys · bladder · blood
- Unani
- kidneys · bladder · uterus
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- clears heat and cools the blood, promotes urination, brightens the eyes and stops bleeding
- Western
- astringent, diuretic, styptic, vulnerary; a silica-rich strengthener of connective tissue, nails and bone
- Unani
- habis-ud-dam (styptic), mudirr-e-baul (diuretic), mufattit-e-hasat (lithontriptic), qabiz (astringent)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- cardiac or renal oedema needing supervised care; not with existing potassium depletion; prolonged use best with thiamine
- Toxicity
- the herb contains thiaminase — long or heavy use can deplete vitamin B1; heat-treated preparations are safer
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