Giant Horsetail (Equisetum telmateia)

Family: Equisetaceae | Edibility: Edible (1/5)

Equisetum species - horsetail family are Creeping, perenial, Branching rootstocks, rooted at the nodes. The Arial stems may be annual or Perennial, are cylindrical, fluted, simple or with whorled branches at the jointed nodes. The internodes are usually hollow. The Surfaces of the stems are covered with Silica. The Cones are terminal.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Shoots, Roots/Tubers

Harvest Seasons: Early Summer, Fall, Spring, Winter

Flavor & Culinary Uses

Strobil (the fertile shoots in spring) - raw or cooked. The tough outer fibres are peeled off, or can be chewed and then discarded. — Strobil (the fertile shoots in spring) - raw or cooked.; The tough outer fibres are peeled off, or can be chewed and then discarded.; The vegetative shoots, produced from late spring onwards, were occasionally cleaned of their leaves, sheathing and branches and then eaten by native North American Indians, but only when very young and tightly compacted.

Habitat & North American Range

Damp shady banks etc, to 350 metres. (Zone 5, Zone 6, Zone 7, Zone 8, Zone 9)