Equisetum fluviatile L. - Water Horsetail


 

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Equisetum fluviatile - (image 1 of 5)

 

Taxonomy

Family: Equisetaceae

Habitat

Ditches, shores, marshes, and bogs. In mud or shallow water.

Associates

Lysimachia thyrsiflora

Distribution

Circumboreal; occurring as far south as southern PA, IL, IA, NE, and WA in North America.

Morphology

Fertile and sterile stems alike, produced annually, to 1 m or more, with 9-25 smooth, shallow ridges; central cavity more than half the diameter of the stem; sheaths green, 4-9 mm, with black or nearly black, persistent teeth 1.5-3 mm or more long; branches may be lacking or abundant from the middle and upper nodes. Strobilis 1-2 cm, pedunculate, deciduous.

Notes

Strobilli produced May and June

Wetland indicator: Obligate

Another common name is simply "Pipes".

References

Gleason, Henry A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Second Ed.
The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY

 

Swink, F. and G. Wilhelm. 1994. Plants of the Chicago Region.
Indiana Academy of Science. The Morton Arboretum. Lisle, Illinois.

 


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 Michael Hough © 2010