Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center


Home	About NPWRC	Our Science	Staff	Employment	Contacts	Common Questions	About the Site

Aquatic and Wetland Vascular Plants of the Northern Great Plains

1. Equisetaceae, the Horsetail Family

1. Equisetum L. -- Horsetail, scouring rush

5. Equisetum palustre L. -- Marsh horsetail

Stems alike, annual, regularly branched, erect, 2-6 dm tall, deeply 7- to 10-ridged, the ridges smooth to rough but without spicules; central cavity ca. 1/6 the stem diameter, about the same size as the outermost cavities; main stem sheaths 7-17 mm long, the teeth free or partly connate, brown to dark brown, 3-4 mm long. Branches few to many, simple, ascending, 5- or 6-angled; sheaths on the first internode of the branches with 5 or more teeth. Cone terminal on the main stem, blunt, long-stalked, deciduous, appearing late Jun--early Aug. Emergent or marginal in oxbow swamps and fresh spring-fed streams; uncommon; se ND, ne SD; (Circumboreal, in N.Amer. s to PA, NE, MT, n ID and WA).
GIF- Distribution Map

Previous Species -- Equisetum laevigatum A. Br. -- Smooth scouring rush
Return to Family -- Equisetaceae - The Horsetail Family
Next Species -- Equisetum pratense Ehrh. -- Meadow horsetail

Accessibility FOIA Privacy Policies and Notices

U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/plants/vascplnt/species/equipalu.htm
Page Contact Information: Webmaster
Page Last Modified: Saturday, 02-Feb-2013 06:42:42 EST
Menlo Park, CA [caww54]