Seasonal Wild Flowers

Latin name

Equisetum palustre

Family

Equisetaceae

Flowering season

Vegetative stems grow from April to October.

Spores ripen in June and July.

English distribution

It is found throughout the country

For a map see the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland –

Marsh Horsetail

Habitat

It grows in wet meadows, bogs, marshes, fens and

woodland.

Description

Marsh Horsetail is a native, perennial, rhizomatous

horsetail growing up to 60cm.

Spore-bearing cones are in spikes up to 3.6cm.

They are on the main stems and are green and

photosynthetic. The node below the cone is slightly

swollen and has a sheeth with distinct triangular black

 and white teeth.

Stems are green and green with between 4 and 8

grooves.

The stem are jointed and have fused sheeths at the

nodes. The sheeths are reduced leaves. They are

green with black triangular teeth with prominent white

margins.

Stems may be regularly or irregularly branched at

the nodes.

The branches are in whorls and have sheeths with

4 triangular black teeth.

The horsetails we see are diploid and produce male

or female spores in a sporangium (spike or cone).

The spores germinate to form small haploid plants

(gametophytes) which produce either male or female

gametes. These unite to  grow into the diploid

horsetails we see.