Shrubby Horsetail

They grow in such profusion in the high altitudes that you can be forgiven for mistaking it for a useless weed. But here we have a plant that has been extensively used and studied for its medicinal value for at least 7 millennia. The Indo-aryans used it to as a substitute for their much celebrated psychoactive drug 'soma'. The current name of this plant Somlata which means 'plant of the moon' is in line with its relation to the actual 'soma' whose identity has been lost to time. In addition to its euphoric properties, this plant is used in asthma, bronchitis and arthritis. More recently it has been used in weight loss supplements. This plant is also recognized in the official pharmacology of Germany, China and Japan.