Species: Field Horsetail (Equisetum arvense)
Family: Horsetails (EQUISETACEAE)
Category: Non-Flowering Plants
Location: NW
A. Non-Flowering Plants
More extensive information on non-flowering plants can be found in a separate blog post.
B. Horsetails (EQUISETACEAE)
Horsetails are a small family of ferns that reproduce by spores, not by seeds. They are non-flowering plants often thought of as "living fossils". They have been around for over 100 million years and would have dominated the undergrowth in forests of the Palaeozoic period, therefore coexisting with dinosaurs.
Horsetails have hollow jointed stems that bear whorls of narrow leaves, producing spores in cones at the tips of the shoots. They are deeply rooted plants. The pattern of spacing of the leaf nodes, getting closer together towards the apex of the stem, is said to have inspired John Napier to invent logarithms. The stems are coated with abrasive silicates, and they have been used for scouring metal cooking pots.
C. Field Horsetail (Equisetum arvense)
Like other horsetails, this non-flowering plant has deep roots that make it virtually impossible to dig it out entirely.
In folk medicine preparations are used for various conditions, such as fluid retention (edema), urinary tract infections, loss of bladder control, and for treating wounds. Horsetail tea or tincture, made from the stems, is a mild diuretic, and is taken for blood in the urine or urinary stones.
The plant may be cooked and eaten like asparagus, but can lead to thiamine deficiency because of the presence of thiaminase, which catalyses the breakdown of this B-vitamin.
Images
Field Horsetail
Like other horsetails, this non-flowering plant has deep roots that make it virtually impossible to dig it out entirely.
Field Horsetail
The distinctive shape of the fertile cone of a newly-growing Field Horsetail is clearly visible here, photographed in March. These fertile cones release spores. This classifies them as non-flowering plants, rather than flowering plants that produce pollen and/or seeds.
Field Horsetail
To the right of the newly-emerged sterile green stem of this Field Horsetail is an emerging fertile cone.
