# Horsetail stripes

十草 tokusa

![Horsetail stripes](https://www.furoshiki.com/swatches/tokusa.svg)

Upright stripes that copy the jointed stems of horsetail, a reed once used to polish wood. A long-loved stripe on pottery and katagami stencils; it feels clean and straight-growing.

Plant stripe in ceramics and katagami

Horsetail (Equisetum hyemale) is hard and rough with silica and was used to polish wood, hence its name 'whetstone grass'. Its jointed stems became a stripe pattern; pottery usually writes it 十草, stencils and dyeing 木賊.

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Source: https://www.furoshiki.com/patterns/tokusa/