Consider-the-Lilies Web Gallery

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Scouring-Rush

This lily  is on display not for the beauty of its flowers, for it has none; nor do you find it in this room because of the interesting coloration or shape of it foliage, for it is without leaves; nor is it on display in the Gallery because it has an interesting method of dispersing its seeds, because—surprise!—for it has none.

So, why is it here?

I've added it because it is among the most unusual of all the lilies that I've "considered" since beginning my wanderings.

Known as Horsetail, as well as Scouring Rush, this curious plant is, indeed, a member of the Horsetail family (Equisetaceae).

 It grows in upright stands in damp lowlands along river banks and in marshes. It is reputed to reach heights of greater than seven feet.

This colony, the tallest stalks of which are just over three feet in height, is the tallest stand I've come across in Augusta and Rockbridge counties in Virginia.

Equisetum hyemale  has a most interesting history as a utility herb that was highly valued by the Native Americans and then the settlers in North America.

Although not a member of the Rush family, despite the common name, this native perennial, does have a hollow stem like its namesake.

This unique plant, however, uses its hollow stems to appropriate the silica found in the sandy soil in these damp habitats.

As the stalk grows this element is drawn up into the tissues of the plant.

Native Americans would crush a stalk and use it as an abrasive. It was rubbed on clay pots and gourds to clean them, and on arrow shafts and knife blades to polish them—wherever an abrasive was needed. This all-purpose scourer was valued and utilized in native and settler cultures long before anyone had thought of sandpaper or steel wool. 

Its botanical name, Equisetum hyemale is a good descriptor of its unusual shape and growth habits. 

The prefix,Equisetum, is Latin for "horsetail" from equus = "horse," and seta, "bristle.

The suffix, hyemale,: means "of the winter"; which is when this  plant, which does not flower, produces spores, rather than seeds.

The knobby ridges at the tip of the spear, as shown to the right, is a cone from which numerous fine spores will be released in late winter.

All in all, although no beauty, this is a most unusual and useful lily!

Go to the Main Directory to consider more lilies of the field.