Original: The latter name refers to the plants ' rush-like appearance , and to the fact that the stems are coated with abrasive silicates , making them useful for scouring ( cleaning ) metal items such as cooking pots or drinking mugs , particularly those made of tin .
Simplified: The latter name refers to the plants ' rush-like appearance ; the stems were used for scouring cooking pots in the past ( due to them being coated with abrasive silica ) .