Equisetum arvense is a herbaceous non-flowering plant 2-5 feet tall. It is part of the ancient genus, Equisetum, which was once the dominant plant group in the world about 230 million years ago in the Carboniferous Age.
Common horsetail reproduces by spores and creeping rhizomes. It is easily identified by its slender, hollow, stems with conspicuous nodes and siliceous ridges that are rough to the touch.
Common Horsetail Classification
- Domain: Eukaryota
- Kingdom: Plantae
- Phylum: Equisetophyta
- Subphylum: Pteridophyta
- Class: Equisetopsida
- Order: Equisetales
- Family: Equisetaceae
- Genus: Equisetum
- Species: Equisetum arvense
- Common Names: Horsetail, Field horsetail, and Scouring rush
Nativity and Distribution
Common horsetail is native to the Arctic and the temperate Northern Hemisphere which includes Canada, North America, and Europe.
Today, it is also distributed in:
- Argentina
- Brazil
- Chile
- China
- Iran
- Madagascar
- Turkey
Physical Characteristics
- Leaves: Small, scale-like leaves arranged in whorls in their nodal sheaths
- Stems: Separate green sterile and tan fertile spore-bearing stems
- Fruits: The plant has no fruits
- Flowers: The plant has no flowers
- Roots: Rhizomatous root system
Equisetum arvense is a perennial non-flowering herb that grows about 2-5 feet tall. It is part of the ancient genus, Equisetum, which was once the dominant plant group in the world about 230 million years ago in the Carboniferous Age.
Common horsetail reproduces by spores, creeping rhizomes, and tubers. It is easily identified by its slender, hollow stems with conspicuous nodes, and siliceous ridges that are rough to the touch.
E. arvense produces two separate types of stems that emerge from the creeping, brown rhizomes.
The fertile stems are about 10-25 cm long and 3-5 mm wide and emerge first in spring. They are unbranched, succulent, tan-colored, and terminate in a spore-bearing cone 4 cm long. These stems lack chlorophyll and die off soon after spore shedding.
The sterile stems emerge later and can reach up to 2 feet. They are rough and wiry and have four-angled green branches (modified leaves), spreading from the joints to give the plants a bushy appearance. These stems die in autumn.
As a non-flowering plant, it does not have fruit (although it produces a spore-bearing cone) and does not have flowers.
The cone is apical, brown, 10-40 mm long, and 4-9 mm wide while the spores are globose, pale green to yellow in color.
Reproduction, Dispersal, and Life Cycle
- Life Cycle: Perennial
- Seeds: Produces spores
- Climate: Temperate climate with cool and wet conditions
- Dispersal: Wind and water
E. arvense is a perennial plant that reproduces through two life cycle stages, the first is visible during the spore-producing stage and the non-visible during the gametophyte stage.
The cone contains thousands of spores with spring-like appendages that respond to moisture. Once dry, these appendages uncoil and propel the spores into the wind to new distances.
Finding the right climatic conditions, the spores germinate into a gametophyte that produces new plants. These new plants send branches deep into the soil, successfully establishing a horizontal rhizome network. The rhizomes support extensive colonization through the sending up of new shoots each year.
Common horsetail thrives in temperate climates with cool and wet conditions as found in the Northern Hemisphere.
Similar Plants
- Equisetum hyemale
- Equisetum palustre
- Equisetum pratense
Uses
- Fresh extract can be used to stop bleeding on wounds and treat lung damage from emphysema and tuberculosis.
- E. arvense liquid extract is used to make fungicides for blight and powdery mildew.
- The buds are eaten as a vegetable in parts of Asia such as Japan and Korea.
- It was used in North America, Finland, Austria, and China to make remedies for treating inflammation, gout, rheumatism, lung diseases, rashes, and hard-to-treat wounds.
- The plant is under pharmaceutical research for its diuretic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-microbial properties enhanced by its high mineral and silica content.
- It was used to clean various surfaces due to its abrasive nature, hence the name “scouring rush”.
- Dried stems were used to polish metals.
- It is used as an indicator of areas with high levels of lead, copper, and zinc due to its capacity to absorb heavy metals.
Impact
Equisetum arvense is a weed of crop fields, ponds, and ditches. However, it has little impact on vigorous crops due to its limited competitiveness. That said, it can cause difficulty in harvesting by clogging the equipment with its bulky fragments. Additionally, due to its extensive rhizome network, it can be expensive to eradicate.
The plant also contains thiaminase in its leaves and stems which when present in hay can cause poisoning if ingested over a long period of time, particularly, in horses. Symptoms include breathing and digestive problems, fever, muscle rigidity, coma, and death.
Its colony-forming habit can also lead to poor aesthetics in ornamental landscapes.
Control
- Cultural control: Grow competitive crop varieties
- Chemical control: Apply herbicides like glyphosate or MCPA
The best control strategy is to prevent any establishment wherever possible. Once it encroaches on an area, it becomes difficult to control using many of the common strategies like mowing, digging, and herbicides.
In crop farms, however, it has been shown that growing competitive crop varieties and timely fertilizer applications can crowd the weeds and prevent further establishment.
Chemical herbicides like glyphosate, mecoprop, or MCPA provide temporary or season-long control because of the deep-rooted rhizomes and tuberous storage systems.
We recommended consulting with a local extension officer for the best Equisetum arvense control strategy in your crop farm or landscape.
Lead Editor for Insight Weeds.