![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/23/Equisetum_arvense_foliage.jpg/640px-Equisetum_arvense_foliage.jpg&w=640&q=50)
Equisetum arvense
Species of horsetail / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.[2][3] It is sometimes confused with mare's tail, Hippuris vulgaris.[4]
Equisetum arvense | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Photosynthetic summer branches | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Division: | Polypodiophyta |
Class: | Polypodiopsida |
Subclass: | Equisetidae |
Order: | Equisetales |
Family: | Equisetaceae |
Genus: | Equisetum |
Subgenus: | E. subg. Equisetum |
Species: | E. arvense |
Binomial name | |
Equisetum arvense | |
Synonyms[1] | |
|
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/22/Equisetum_arvense_fertile_spore-bearing_stem_-_Keila.jpg/640px-Equisetum_arvense_fertile_spore-bearing_stem_-_Keila.jpg)
Rhizomes can pierce through the soil up to 6 feet (1.8 m) in depth. This allows this species to tolerate many conditions and is hard to get rid of even with the help of herbicides.[5]