field horsetail

Equisetum arvense

Summary 2

Equisetum arvense, the field horsetail or common horsetail, is a herbaceous perennial plant, native throughout the arctic and temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. It has separate sterile non-reproductive and fertile spore-bearing stems, growing from a perennial underground rhizomatous stem system. The fertile stems are produced in early spring and are non-photosynthetic, while the green sterile stems start to grow after the fertile stems have wilted, and persist through the summer until the first autumn frosts. In Seattle it is identified by narrow leaves whorling around the joints.

Sources and Credits

  1. (c) Frank Mayfield, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://www.flickr.com/photos/gmayfield10/3275689448/
  2. Adapted by Harry Podschwit from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equisetum_arvense

More Info

iNat Map