tl’eekus

"A grassy plant, about two feet tall, comes apart easily, young fowl eat it." (Lena Nacktan)

Horsetails are distributed throughout temperate and arctic areas of the northern hemisphere, usually growing in moist soils. It spreads from rhizomes which can grow as deep as 6 feet which makes it difficult to eradicate from sites it is unwanted in. Horsetails reproduce via spores which are borne on the plant’s reproductive stems. In PWS, this plant was used by native peoples to treat pimples. They would mash the horsetail into a paste and place it on the pimple. An eagle feather was then placed on the paste and when it was removed a few days later, the paste and pimple would cling to it. (Copper River Watershed Project)