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Field Horsetail
Field Horsetail
Equisetum arvense
Plantae
COMMON

Stats

Lifespan
Perennial
Size
Small
Diet
Photosynthetic
Biome
Temperate grassland
Range
Northern Hemisphere
Movement
Sessile
Breeding
Spores
Defense
Toxins
Status
Common

About

Field horsetail is one of Earth's oldest living plant lineages, virtually unchanged for 300 million years. Its hollow, jointed stems spread aggressively through underground rhizomes and reproduce via spores rather than seeds.

Life cycle

  1. 1.
    seed
    A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
  2. 2.
    sprout
    A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
  3. 3.
    sapling
    A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
  4. 4.
    mature
    Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom
Plantae
Phylum
Tracheophyta
Class
Polypodiopsida
Order
Equisetales
Family
Equisetaceae
Genus
Equisetum
Species
Equisetum arvense