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Equisetum arvense L.

Field horsetail

KingdomPlantaePlants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
SubkingdomTracheobiontaVascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
DivisionEquisetophytaHorsetails, which date back to the Devonian era
ClassEquisetopsidaHorsetails, spore-bearing plants related to ferns
OrderEquisetalesLiving horsetails (most are extinct)
FamilyEquisetaceaeLiving horsetails
GenusEquisetumFrom equus, horse; and seta, bristle
SpeciesarvenseFrom the Latin arvum, “plowed,” because the plant grows in arable soil or disturbed areas

About plant names...

Horsetails are among the oldest members of the fern family, dating back 300 million years to the Carboniferous Period. They are largely unchanged from when dinosaurs ruled the earth. Field horsetails have high levels of silicon (10%!), and were once used to polish pewter and wood. Horsetails are found almost everywhere in North America. Like all horsetails, they are fond of damp soil, but these also grow in fields, woods, waste places, and glades. They prefer light shade, but will grow in full sunlight as well.

Plants: Fertile stems, which are tipped by strobili, spore-bearing conelike structures, are pale brown (nonphoto­synthetic), erect, and unbranched. They are 6-12″ (15-30 cm) tall. They appear early in the season and are gone by May. Sterile stems (no “cone”) are green, 6-24″ (15-60 cm) tall, 1/16-3/16″ (3-5 mm) in diameter, with 4-14 ridges. They appear after the fertile stems have come and gone. They are highly variable, usually heavily branched in a series of upward-pointing whorls, usually erect, sometimes pros­trate. Branches are thin, shaped like a plus sign in cross-section. Stem and branch surfaces feel rough, due to the presence of silica—tiny glasslike spheres absorbed from the soil and deposited in the plant.

See Equisetum for a comparison chart.

Leaves: Tiny, dark brown sharp-tipped leaves surround the stem at nodes. They do not perform photosynthesis.

Fruits: Conelike structures that are neither cones nor fruits appear atop the fertile stems. They are 1-1½″ (2.5-3.8 cm) long, with blunt tips.

Medical: Native Americans and early settlers made a diuretic tea from this plant.

Edibility: The buds are eaten in Japan, but other portions of the plant and all other species of Equisetum are toxic. Unless you are a grizzly bear, in which case field horsetails make up about 3-5% of your diet. Black bears also consume it, despite its low nutritive value.

Online References:

Skye Flora

Wikipedia

The USDA Forest Service's Fire Effects Information Database

Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants

Calflora

EFloras

References:

Cobb, Boughton, Farnsworth, Elizabeth & Lowe, Cheryl, Peterson Field Guides: Ferns of Northeastern and Central North America, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005, p. 340

Equisetum arvense (field horsetail)

4/13/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 6 × 9″ (14 × 22 cm) ID is uncertain

Equisetum arvense (field horsetail)

5/2/2021 · Maquoit Bay, Brunswick, Maine · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (12 × 18 cm)

Equisetum arvense (field horsetail)

4/13/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 17 × 12″ (44 × 29 cm)

Equisetum arvense (field horsetail)

4/13/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 6 × 9″ (14 × 22 cm)

Equisetum arvense (field horsetail)

4/21/2010 · Near Pleasant Lake Forest, St. L, New York · By Gari Vibber

Equisetum arvense (field horsetail)

4/13/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 6 × 9″ (14 × 22 cm)

Equisetum arvense (field horsetail)

4/21/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 5 × 8″ (13 × 19 cm)

Equisetum arvense (field horsetail)

9/18/2016 · Shore Acres Preserve

Equisetum arvense (field horsetail)

4/21/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 5 × 8″ (13 × 19 cm)

Equisetum arvense L. var. alpestre Wahlenb.

Equisetum arvense L. var. boreale (Bong.) Rupr.

Equisetum arvense L. var. campestre Wahlenb.

Equisetum arvense L. var. riparium Farw.

Equisetum calderi B. Boivin

 

Equisetum arvense description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 11 Jul 2023.

© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.


 

Equisetum arvense (field horsetail)

5/23/2009 · West Fork of Oak Creek Trail, Ari­zona ID is uncertain

Equisetum arvense (field horsetail)

9/16/2016 · Sieur de Monts Botanical Gardens, Bar Harbor, Maine

Equisetum arvense (field horsetail)

9/18/2016 · Shore Acres Preserve

Equisetum arvense (field horsetail)

9/18/2016 · Shore Acres Preserve

Equisetum arvense (field horsetail)

4/21/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 17 × 12″ (44 × 29 cm)

Equisetum arvense (field horsetail)

4/8/2012 · North Central Railroad Trail, Monkton Rd, Sparks, Mary­land ID is uncertain

Equisetum arvense (field horsetail)

4/13/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 5 × 8″ (13 × 19 cm)

Equisetum arvense (field horsetail)

5/4/2013 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 2½ × 1½′ (79 × 53 cm)

Equisetum arvense (field horsetail)

4/13/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 6 × 9″ (15 × 23 cm)

Equisetum arvense (field horsetail)

8/27/2007 · Umpqua Lighthouse State Park, Ore­gon ID is uncertain

Equisetum arvense (field horsetail)

4/2/2012 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 6 × 9″ (14 × 22 cm) ID is uncertain

Equisetum arvense (field horsetail)

5/21/2009 · Grand Canyon South Rim, Ari­zona ID is uncertain

Equisetum arvense (field horsetail)

5/2/2021 · Maquoit Bay, Brunswick, Maine · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (12 × 18 cm)

Equisetum arvense (field horsetail)

4/8/2012 · North Central Railroad Trail, Monkton Rd, Sparks, Mary­land · ≈ 8 × 12″ (20 × 31 cm) ID is uncertain

Range:

About this map...