Horsetail (Tokusa) - Horsetail (English spelling) scouring rush

Japanese: トクサ(砥草∥木賊) - トクサ（英語表記）scouring rush

An evergreen perennial plant of the Equisetaceae family (illustration). The Japanese name, "Togusa," means a plant that can be used as a whetstone, as the stems, which contain silicate, are used to polish things. The stems are upright, dark green, and hard. They are 30-100 cm tall and 5-7 mm in diameter, and usually do not produce branches. The leaves grow in whorls, attached to each other, and the leaf sheaths, excluding the easily falling teeth, are 4-8 mm long, close to the stem, and blackish. A single sporangium is borne at the tip of the stem; it is short and ellipsoidal, 6-10 mm long, sessile, and protruding at the tip; initially greenish brown, then yellow.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

常緑性のトクサ科の多年草（イラスト）。和名の砥草はケイ酸塩を含んだ茎が物を磨くのに使われることから，砥石に代用できる草の意。茎は直立し，濃緑色で，硬質である。高さ30～100cm，直径5～7mm，ふつう枝を出さない。葉は輪生，互いに合着し，落ちやすい歯片を除いた葉鞘（ようしよう）は長さ4～8mmで，茎に密着し，黒っぽい。胞子囊穂は茎の先端に1個つき，短い楕円体で，長さ6～10mm，無柄，先端はつきでて，はじめは緑褐色，のちに黄色になる。

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