Marsh horsetail | |
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Equisetum palustre | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Division: | Polypodiophyta |
Class: | Polypodiopsida |
Subclass: | Equisetidae |
Order: | Equisetales |
Family: | Equisetaceae |
Genus: | Equisetum |
Subgenus: | E. subg. Equisetum |
Species: | E. palustre |
Binomial name | |
Equisetum palustre | |
Synonyms [1] | |
List
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Equisetum palustre, the marsh horsetail, [2] is a perennial herbaceous pteridophyte belonging to the subclass of horsetails (Equisetidae). It is widespread in cooler regions of Eurasia and North America. [3] [4] [5]
Equisetum palustre has stems growing between 10-60 cm tall. The upright stems are usually scarcely branched with loose green leaf sheaths that have 5-10 narrow, dark teeth. The teeth are light at the edges. The lowest internode of the upright branches are much shorter than the leaf sheath of the stem. [6] [7]
The rough, furrowed stem is 1–3 mm diameter, with usually 8–10 ribs, in rare cases, 4–12; it bears a variable number of whorled branches. [6]
The spores are spread by the wind (anemochory) and have four long ribbon-like structures attached to them. The spores sit on strobili which are rounded on the top. Marsh horsetails often form runners, with which they also can proliferate vegetatively. [7]
Linnaeus was the first to describe marsh horsetail with the binomial Equisetum palustre in his Species Plantarum of 1753. [8]
Equisetum palustre is green from spring to autumn and grows spores from June to September. It grows primarily in nutrient-rich wet meadows. It is found in Europe and the circumpolar region up to mountainous heights. Its distribution is declining.[ citation needed ]
In Finland, it has benefited from human action and grows often in road and track sides, ditches and especially peat based fields and pastures. [7]
A specific plant association in which E. palustre is found is the Juncus subnodulosus-Cirsium palustre fen-meadow. [9]
Equisetum palustre is poisonous to mammals, most often reported as potentially fatal to horses, as it contains alkaloids palustrine and palustridiene, which destroy vitamin B1. According to Wink, Equisetum palustre also contains thiaminase enzymes. It is also known to contain lesser amounts of nicotine. Many thiaminases, however, are denatured by heat, and some sources refer Equisetum palustre safe to eat in moderate amounts when properly cooked. [10] [11] [12] [13] In Finland, it used to lower the production of dairy when cows would eat them in place of other preferable fodder. [7]
Equisetum is the only living genus in Equisetaceae, a family of vascular plants that reproduce by spores rather than seeds.
Cirsium palustre, the marsh thistle or European swamp thistle, is a herbaceous biennial flowering plant in the family Asteraceae.
Ophioglossum vulgatum, commonly known as adder's-tongue, southern adder's-tongue or adder's-tongue fern, is a species of fern in the family Ophioglossaceae.
Equisetum fluviatile, the water horsetail or swamp horsetail, is a vascular plant in the horsetail family Equisetaceae. It is a perennial herbaceous pteridophyte that reproduces using spores.
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.
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.
Lotus pedunculatus, the big trefoil, greater bird's-foot-trefoil or marsh bird's-foot trefoil, is a member of the pea family (Fabaceae).
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.
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.
Equisetum telmateia, the great horsetail, is a species of Equisetum (horsetail) native to Europe, western Asia and northwest Africa. It was formerly widely treated in a broader sense including a subspecies in western North America, but this is now treated as a separate species, Equisetum braunii.
Equisetum laevigatum is a species of horsetail in the family Equisetaceae. It is known by the common names smooth horsetail and smooth scouring rush. This plant is native to much of North America except for northern Canada and southern Mexico. It is usually found in moist areas in sandy and gravelly substrates. It may be annual or perennial. It grows narrow green stems sometimes reaching heights exceeding 1.5 meters. The leaves at the nodes are small, scale-like brownish sheaths and there are occasionally small, spindly branches. The stems are topped with rounded cone-shaped sporangia.
Equisetum hyemale is an evergreen perennial herbaceous pteridophyte in the horsetail family Equisetaceae. It is native to Eurasia and Greenland.
Diphasiastrum complanatum, common names groundcedar, creeping jenny, or northern running-pine, is a species of clubmoss native to dry coniferous forests in colder northerly parts of the world. Under the original name Lycopodium complanatum, this was an inclusive superspecies that included a number of other species now known to be biologically separate. This plant is an evergreen, perennial pteridophyte. The spores are produced June to September.
Spinulum annotinum, synonym Lycopodium annotinum, known as interrupted club-moss, or stiff clubmoss, is a species of clubmoss native to forests of the colder parts of North America, as well as Asia, and most of Europe. It is an evergreen perennial pteridophyte. The genus Spinulum is accepted in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016, but not in other classifications, which submerge the genus in Lycopodium.
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.
Equisetum scirpoides Michx., Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 281 (1803). 2 n = 216.The smallest of the currently occurring representatives of the genus Equisetum (horsetail).
Diphasiastrum alpinum, the alpine clubmoss, is a species of clubmoss. This plant is a glaucous scale-leaved perennial pteridophyte. In Finland, the spores are produced June to September. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his Flora Lapponica, 1737, from specimens obtained in Finland.
Sigesbeckia orientalis, commonly known as Indian weed or common St. Paul's wort, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is a small, upright, sparsely branched shrub with yellow flowers and widespread in Asia, Africa and Australia.
Equisetum ramosissimumDesf., known as branched horsetail, is a species of evergreen horsetail.
Equisetum braunii, the northern giant horsetail, is a species of Equisetum (horsetail) native to western North America. It was formerly widely treated as a subspecies of the European species Equisetum telmateia, and still is by some authorities. It is often simply but ambiguously called "giant horsetail", but that name may just as well refer to the Latin American species Equisetum giganteum and Equisetum myriochaetum. The range extends from southeastern Alaska and western British Columbia south to California, mainly in coastal regions, but also inland to Idaho.
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