Dig into Plants: Horsetail

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Horsetail

Other Common Names: Scouring Rush, Scouring-rush Horsetail, Canuela

Scientific Name: Equisetum hyemale

Native to Alabama: Yes

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center – Alan Cressler

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Basic Plant Information

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center – Sally and Andy Wasowski

I am a vascular plant with no woody stems above ground, so I am herbaceous.
I keep leaves year-round, so I am evergreen.
I die back in winter but regrow in spring for many seasons, so I am perennial.
I can grow 2 – 4 feet high and 1 – 6 feet wide.

Ecological Benefits

Tall stems are great cover for various kinds of wildlife, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects; dragonflies love perching on the stems

Maintenance Notes

Not dormant in the winter; Stems remain green.
It is best to contain it in a pot with no holes and be watchful that it doesn’t creep over the edge; very aggressive grower.
When watering, hold hose to base of plant for a count of 5 seconds. Water should reach all roots.
Avoid sprinkling water on the leaves.
Requires moist to wet soil at all times.

Moist to wet soil at all times: water three times per week.

Habitat Requirements

This plant prefers:

Full Sun
(6+ hours of sun per day)

Part Sun/ Shade
(2-6 hours of sun per day)

Shade
(Less than 2 hours of sun per day)

Prefers moist to wet soil at all times

Sandy, Loamy, Clay, Limestone,
or Moist Soil

Leaf, Flower & Seed Identification

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center – Alan Cressler

LEAF DESCRIPTION

Reed-like, dark green stems are cylindrical, about 1/3-inch in diameter, jointed, mostly hollow, usually branched, and have rough horizontal ridges; leaves are reduced to node-scales, joined together around the stem at each joint, forming a narrow, black, sheath-like band ending in a fringe of teeth

Leaf Characteristics Chart (PDF)


Shape: Scale-like	Margin: Dentate

Arrangement: Whorled	Form: Fused

FLOWER DESCRIPTION

Horsetail is not a flowering plant

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center –
R. W. Smith

SEED DESCRIPTION

Plant spreads by:
Spores and Rhizomes/ Tubers/ Roots & Shoots
Underground rhizomes spread and create new clumps of plants – spreads aggressively


Type: Spore-bearing cone	Description: No fruit or seeds; reproduces by spores in a pale yellow ovoid-shaped cone structure up to 1” long known as a strobilus which is located at the end of a fertile stem; sometimes older shoots will produces 1-4 cones around its stem rather than at the end; the cone has a short, narrow point at the tip; cones wither away after spore production ends
Months in Seed: Fall - Winter

Plant Life Cycle

Plant Life Cycle:

Horsetail plants reproduce by spores rather than seeds.
Spores are contained in cone-like spore cases at the ends of the stems.
The spores are dispersed by the wind.
When the spores land on a damp surface, they grow into small male and female structures.
Finally, when fertilization takes place, the plant will grow to form the visible stems used to identify the horsetail plant.

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center – Lee Page

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS

Quick Fact Sheet
(Condensed Species Info)

Plant ID Sign (Text Only):
Ready as-is PDF

Plant ID Sign (With Picture):
Ready as-is PDF

QR Code
(Links to this Webpage)

Plant ID Sign (Text Only):
Editable Word Doc

Plant ID Sign (With Picture):
Editable Word Doc

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