One of my favorite features of this plant, aside from it medicinal use, is when you gather large bundles of it to let them dry as the vertical ribs in conjunction with its hollow core create a very loud, very intense, high pitched ghastly scream. Hence the Anishnaabemowin name Gziib'nashk - Ziinweh, meaning to scream.
Tea made from this absolutely remarkable herb tastes like a mild green tea with a slight sour twist. Its sour tingle makes ingesting therapeutic doses more than desirable. It offering a sour flavor is present in the Anishnaabemowin name: Gziib'nashk - Gziiw, meaning sour.
3 Proofs of the medical claims of Scouring Rush:
Traditional:
Scouring rush has been used around the world as a “bone medicine.”
Scientific:
Scouring rush contains therapeutic amounts of Vitamins and Minerals; C, A, and E, Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, Iron, Zinc and Copper. All of which are absolutely necessary for the hardening and strengthening of bones.
The plants silicon and silicic acid content is greater than that of any other plant in the entire plant kingdom! These compounds allow your body to be able to store large amounts of calcium in your bones and produce large amounts of collagen and other body tissues. This magnificent creations' silicic acid causes leucocytosis (notable increase in white blood cells) to protect fatty deposits in blood vessels with only a small dose. Its great encouragement of lipid-metabolism makes this plant endlessly useful in treating cardiovascular sicknesses across the board!
Additional amazing uses of scouring rush:
Scouring rush has an array of alkaloids, flavanoids and saponins which relieve what is called specific-inflammation and in scouring rush's case, is inflammation only around bones, ligaments, joints, and skin/hair/nails. The absence of inflammation in these areas allows the body to heal remarkably quick. This array also has some very special effects on healing severely damaged lung tissue from Tuberculosis and smoking.
Scouring Rush is also great for tissue toning, a local-astringent and surefire diuretic action when combined with large amounts of silica. These actions make for an incredibly speedy kidney and bladder stone expulsion, quick healing of ulcers and cystitis with haematuria (blood in urine), reducing hemorrhage, fast healing of regular external wounds, bleeding from the mouth, nose and bowels, diarrhea, dysentery, chilblains and conjunctivitis.
The Doctrine of Signatures:
When you look at the structure of a bone, on the outside it has a very hard outer layer called the periosterum, which is made up of collagen. The layer after the hard collagen is a softer spongy bone and the center is hollow for marrow.Scouring rush is structured the exact same way. It starts out with a hard outer layer which is loaded with silica and calcium, then has a holey or spongy layer and a hollow center.
This plant has so much silica in it when you hold it up to the sun you can see the shimmer of all the abrasive little crystals. It has so much silica that before the industrial production of steel wool, which happened just before WW1, you would purchase bundles of this plant instead and use it to polish everything from wood to metals and even ivory. Hence the name Gziib'nashk - Ziibii, describing the scouring motion!