English

Equisetum arvense

Arapaho

Translation of the Arapaho

'one [joint/stalk] goes inside the other'

Horsetail and the Arapaho

Drug: kidney aid; urinary aid. Medicinally, Equisetum arvense in particular is the species used. The plant is picked and then boiled to make a tea. The tea is used to “flush the kidneys” and is also reported to taste good. It was used for gall bladder troubles and gall stones as well.

Drug: oral aid. The plant was dried, ground up into a powdered form, and then applied (directly?) to cancre sores in the mouth.

When talking descriptively, the above name is generally applied to all plants such as horsetails and scouring rush. This name is applied by the Arapaho to ‘bamboo’ as well, and in general to any ‘jointed grass.’ (‘Joint grass’ is a common Arapaho English name for the above species.)