VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Equisetum arvense | Field Horsetail 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Field horsetail is a common food item consumed by grizzly bears [37].
On average, field horsetail formed 2.4 to 5.2 percent by volume of the
grizzly bear summer diet in Yellowstone National Park and was ranked
10th out of 32 food items in amount of consumption [49].  Field
horsetail occurs in the wet meadows, marshes and moist cirque basins
most often visited by grizzly bears in spring [2].  Field horsetail is a
minor to important component in the spring and early summer diet of
black bears [28,32].  It is of low nutritive value [49].

Field horsetail is not an important range forage for livestock, and
excessive amounts (more than 20 percent) in hay can cause scours,
paralysis, and death in horses [36].


PALATABILITY : 
Field horsetail is low in palatability to livestock, deer, and elk [39].


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
The nutritive value of the sterile shoots of field horsetail, as
percentage of dry weight, is as follows [49]:

protein                  15
nitrogen-free extract    40.6
ether extract             3.7
gross kilocalories        2.9 per gram

Aerial, fresh field horsetail nutritive components, as percentage of dry
weight, are as follows [50]:

dry matter                    100
ash                            18.5
crude fiber                    23.5
ether extract                   2.4
nitrogen free extract          50.3
protein (nitrogen x 6.25)       5.3
digestible protein for
   cattle                       2.4
   goats                        1.5
   horses                       2.0
   rabbits                      2.8
   sheep                        1.9


COVER VALUE : 
Field horsetail provides poor to fair cover for wildlife [13].


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
NO-ENTRY


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Native Americans and early settlers used tea made from field horsetail
as a diuretic.  Field horsetail was used as a cough medicine for horses.
Dyes for clothing, lodges, and porcupine quills were made from field
horsetail.  It was used for scouring and polishing objects.  The young
shoots were eaten either cooked or raw [40].

Silica extracted from field horsetail is utilized for manufacture of
remineralizing and diuretic medicinal products.  Other potential uses of
biogenic silica include industrial applications (abrasives, toothpaste,
protective cloth, optical fibers, thickeners for paint, etc.),
detergents, and cleaners.  Leaf-odor constituents were used widely in th
1970's in perfumes but are little used now.  These constituents can be
used as food flavors and flavor enhancers, and as animal repellants
[63].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Field horsetail is a weed in more than 25 crops of the world but is
seldom the worst offender.  It is probably toxic to surrounding
vegetation due to high levels of alkaloids [33].  Field horsetail
increases after soil cultivation with or without the application of
herbicides [8].  It may be at least partially controlled by some
herbicides [51].

Field horsetail is sensitive to moisture stress; drought conditions
result in a reduction in the production of new shoots [8].

Repeated cultivation by hoeing reduces the number of mature shoots per
acre [8].  It is recommended that agricultural land infested with field
horsetail be deep-plowed each season to prevent deep rhizome
development; however, this will probably not be successful if the
rhizomes have already penetrated below plow-depth [33].

Related categories for Species: Equisetum arvense | Field Horsetail