Equisetum telmateia

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Equisetum telmateia
Equisetopsida.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: Polypodiophyta
Class: Polypodiopsida
Subclass: Equisetidae
Order: Equisetales
Family: Equisetaceae
Genus: Equisetum
Subgenus: E. subg. Equisetum
Species:
E. telmateia
Binomial name
Equisetum telmateia

Equisetum telmateia, the great horsetail or northern giant horsetail, is a species of Equisetum (puzzlegrass) with an unusual distribution, with one subspecies native to Europe, western Asia and northwest Africa, and a second subspecies native to western North America. [1] [2] The North American subspecies is often simply but ambiguously called "giant horsetail", but that name may just as well refer to the Latin American Equisetum giganteum and Equisetum myriochaetum .

Description

It is an herbaceous perennial plant, with separate green photosynthetic sterile stems, and pale yellowish non-photosynthetic spore-bearing fertile stems. The sterile stems, produced in late spring and dying down in late autumn, are 30–150 cm (rarely to 240 cm) tall (the tallest species of horsetail outside of tropical regions) and 1 cm diameter, heavily branched, with whorls of 14–40 branches, these up to 20 cm long, 1–2 mm diameter and unbranched, emerging from the axils of a ring of bracts. The fertile stems are produced in early spring before the sterile shoots, growing to 15–45 cm tall with an apical spore-bearing strobilus 4–10 cm long and 1–2 cm broad, and no side branches; the spores disperse in mid spring, with the fertile stems dying immediately after spore release. It also spreads by means of rhizomes that have been observed to penetrate 4 meters into wet clay soil, spreading laterally in multiple layers. [3] Occasionally plants produce stems that are both fertile and photosynthetic. [2] [4] [5]

Subspecies

There are two subspecies: [1] [4]

Habitat

It is found in damp shady places, spring fens and seepage lines, usually in open woodlands, commonly forming large clonal colonies. [2] [5]

Related Research Articles

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Equisetum is the only living genus in Equisetaceae, a family of vascular plants that reproduce by spores rather than seeds.

<i>Dasiphora fruticosa</i> Species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae

Dasiphora fruticosa is a species of hardy deciduous flowering shrub in the family Rosaceae, native to the cool temperate and subarctic regions of the northern hemisphere, often growing at high altitudes in mountains. Dasiphora fruticosa is still widely referenced in the horticultural literature under its synonym Potentilla fruticosa. Common names include shrubby cinquefoil, golden hardhack, bush cinquefoil, shrubby five-finger, widdy, kuril tea and tundra rose.

<i>Equisetum fluviatile</i> Species of vascular plant in the horsetail family Equisetaceae

Equisetum fluviatile, the water horsetail or swamp horsetail, is a vascular plant. It is a perennial herbaceous pteridophyte.

<i>Calamites</i> Extinct genus of vascular plants in the Order Equisetales

Calamites is a genus of extinct arborescent (tree-like) horsetails to which the modern horsetails are closely related. Unlike their herbaceous modern cousins, these plants were medium-sized trees, growing to heights of 30–50 meters. They were components of the understories of coal swamps of the Carboniferous Period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Equisetidae</span> Subclass of ferns

Equisetidae is one of the four subclasses of Polypodiopsida (ferns), a group of vascular plants with a fossil record going back to the Devonian. They are commonly known as horsetails. They typically grow in wet areas, with whorls of needle-like branches radiating at regular intervals from a single vertical stem.

<i>Equisetum sylvaticum</i> Species of vascular plant in the horsetail family Equisetaceae

Equisetum sylvaticum, the wood horsetail, is a horsetail native to the Northern Hemisphere, occurring in North America and Eurasia. Because of its lacy appearance, it is considered among the most attractive of the horsetails.

<i>Lycopodium clavatum</i> Species of vascular plant in the family Lycopodiaceae

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<i>Equisetum giganteum</i> Species of vascular plant in the family Equisetaceae

Equisetum giganteum, with the common name southern giant horsetail, is a species of horsetail native to South America and Central America, from central Chile east to Brazil and north to southern Mexico.

<i>Equisetum arvense</i> Species of horsetail

Equisetum arvense, the field horsetail or common horsetail, is an herbaceous perennial plant in the Equisetidae (horsetails) sub-class, 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. It is sometimes confused with mare's tail, Hippuris vulgaris.

<i>Equisetum palustre</i> Species of vascular plant in the horsetail family Equisetaceae

Equisetum palustre, the marsh horsetail, is a perennial herbaceous pteridophyte belonging to the division of horsetails (Equisetopsida). It is widespread in cooler regions of North America and Eurasia.

<i>Equisetum pratense</i> Species of horsetail plant

Equisetum pratense, commonly known as meadow horsetail, shade horsetail or shady horsetail, is a widespread horsetail (Equisetophyta) and it is a pteridophyte. Shade horsetail can be commonly found in forests with tall trees or very thick foliage that can provide shade and tends to grow closer and thicker around streams, ponds and rivers. The specific epithet pratense is Latin, meaning pasture or meadow dwelling.

<i>Equisetum hyemale</i> Species of horsetail plant

Equisetum hyemale is an evergreen perennial herbaceous pteridophyte in the horsetail family Equisetaceae. It is a native plant throughout the Holarctic Kingdom, found in North America, Europe, and northern Asia.

<i>Equisetum variegatum</i> Circumpolar species of horsetail plant

Equisetum variegatum, commonly known as variegated horsetail or variegated scouring rush, is a species of vascular plant in the horsetail family Equisetaceae. It is native to the Northern Hemisphere where it has a circumpolar distribution.

<i>Dryopteris goldieana</i> Species of fern

Dryopteris goldieana, commonly called Goldie's wood fern, or giant wood fern is a fern native to the eastern United States and adjacent areas of Canada, from New Brunswick to Ontario and Georgia. It is the largest native North American species of Dryopteris and along with ostrich fern it is one of the largest ferns in eastern North America. Specimens are known with fronds six feet tall. D. goldieana hybridizes with many other species of Dryopteris and the hybrids tend to be larger than the pure species. It was named by William Hooker in honor of its discoverer, John Goldie. The epithet was originally published as goldiana, but this is regarded as a misspelling to be corrected.

<i>Asplenium septentrionale</i> Species of fern in the family Aspleniaceae

Asplenium septentrionale is a species of fern known by the common names northern spleenwort and forked spleenwort. It is native to Europe, Asia and western North America, where it grows on rocks. Its long, slender leaves give it a distinctive appearance. Three subspecies exist, corresponding to a tetraploid and a diploid cytotype and their triploid hybrid.

<i>Equisetum scirpoides</i> Species of vascular plant in the horsetail family Equisetaceae

Equisetum scirpoides Michx., Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 281 (1803). 2 n = 216.The smallest of the currently occurring representatives of the genus Equisetum (horsetail).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sphenophyllales</span> Order of plants

Sphenophyllales is an extinct order of articulate land plants and a sister group to the present-day Equisetales (horsetails). They are fossils dating from the Devonian to the Triassic. They were common during the Late Pennsylvanian to Early Permian, with most of the fossils coming from the Carboniferous period.

<i>Equisetum ramosissimum</i> Species of vascular plant in the horsetail family Equisetaceae

Equisetum ramosissimumDesf., known as branched horsetail, is a species of evergreen horsetail.

Equisetum ramosissimum var. huegelii, with synonyms including Equisetum debile and Equisetum huegelii, is a variety of Equisetum ramosissimum, a plant in the family Equisetaceae, found in parts of tropical Asia and China.

Felicia clavipilosa is an upright, richly branched shrub of up to 60 cm (2 ft) high, that is assigned to the family Asteraceae. It has alternately arranged leaves, and flower heads with 3–4 whorls of involucral bracts with many yellow disc florets in the centre. Very characteristic for the species are the short club-shaped hairs on its fruits. There are two subspecies. Subsp. clavipilosa has narrowly lance-shaped entire leaves with one vein and pale mauve ray florets. Subspecies transvaalensis has lance-shaped leaves with one or three veins and white ray florets. The species occurs in southern Africa, with subsp. clavipilosa having a western distribution in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana and South Africa, and subsp. transvaalensis restricted to the east, from Zimbabwe, through Botswana to South Africa. The subspecies transvaalensis is sometimes called pokkiesblom in Afrikaans.

References

  1. 1 2 "Equisetum telmateia". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 Hyde, H. A., Wade, A. E., & Harrison, S. G. (1978). Welsh Ferns. National Museum of Wales ISBN   0-7200-0210-9.
  3. "Ecology and Physiology of the Giant Horsetails". Archived from the original on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2011-05-12.
  4. 1 2 Flora of North America: Equisetum telmateia
  5. 1 2 Clapham, A. R.; Tutin, T. G. & Warburg, E. F. (1981). Excursion Flora of the British Isles (3rd ed.). Cambridge: University Press. p. 6. ISBN   0-521-23290-2.
  6. "(PDF) Equisetum telmateia subsp. telmateia - Pogórze Przemyskie, Poland".
  7. "(PDF) Equisetum (telmateia) braunii. IEA Paper 2020".