Equisetum fluviatile L.

Water horsetail, swamp horsetail

Water horsetail is the smoothest of the horsetails. Fluviatile is Latin for “pertaining to rivers,” and this horsetail is common in wet, shallow, marshy areas. Like other horsetails, water horsetails have a remarkably high silica content, making them abrasive enough for scouring or sanding.

Identification:

Plants: Water horsetails occur in dense colonies, where they may be unbranched or multiply branched. Fertile and sterile stems look the same. They are 1–3½′ (35–116 cm) tall, with dark green stems 1/16–¼″ (2–8 mm) in diameter. If branches are present, they are less than 3″ (7.6 cm) long, with 8 or fewer nodes. Each segment boundary is ringed by a series of tiny, black-tipped scale leaves. The stems of water horsetails are entirely hollow, and smoother than those of marsh horsetails. The stems pull apart easily at the joints.

See Equisetum for a comparison chart.

Leaves: Each stem node is wrapped with tiny, black, sharp-tipped scale leaves. Branch nodes also have miniscule leaves that appear as black dots. The leaves do not perform photosynthesis; this is done by the stem and branches.

Fruits: The spore-bearing, conelike strobili are yellow-green, ⅜–¾″ (1–2 cm) long.

Habitats: Ponds, marshes, slow-moving water.

References:

Online References:

Older scientific or horticultural names

Equisetum fluviatile description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.

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