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Horsetail

The horsetails are vascular plants, comprising 15 species of plants in the genus Equisetum. This genus is the only one in the family Equisetaceae, which in turn is the only family in the order Equisetales and the class Equisetopsida. This class is often placed as the sole member of the Division Equisetophyta , though some recent molecular analyses place the genus within Pteridophyta Fern

A fern is any one of a group of about 20,000 species [i] of plant [i]s classified in the phylum or divis ... 

, related to Marattiales. The molecular data, however, are somewhat ambiguous as of yet. Other classes and orders of Equisetophyta are known from the fossil Fossil

Fossils are the mineral [i]ized or otherwise preserved remains or traces of animals, plants, and other ... 

 record, where they were important members of the world flora Flora

In botany [i], flora has two meanings. ... 

 during the Carboniferous period.

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The horsetails are vascular plants, comprising 15 species of plants in the genus Equisetum. This genus is the only one in the family Equisetaceae, which in turn is the only family in the order Equisetales and the class Equisetopsida. This class is often placed as the sole member of the Division Equisetophyta , though some recent molecular analyses place the genus within Pteridophyta Fern

A fern is any one of a group of about 20,000 species [i] of plant [i]s classified in the phylum or divis ... 

, related to Marattiales. The molecular data, however, are somewhat ambiguous as of yet. Other classes and orders of Equisetophyta are known from the fossil Fossil

Fossils are the mineral [i]ized or otherwise preserved remains or traces of animals, plants, and other ... 

 record, where they were important members of the world flora Flora

In botany [i], flora has two meanings. ... 

 during the Carboniferous period.


The name horsetail arose because it was thought that the stalk resembled a horse's tail, the name Equisetum being from the Latin Latin

Latin is an ancient Indo-European language [i] originally spoken in Latium [i], ... 

 equus, "horse", and seta, "bristle". Other names, rarely used, include candock , and scouring-rush . The latter refers to the plants' rush-like appearance; the stems were used for scouring cooking pots in the past .

The genus is near-cosmopolitan, being absent only from Australasia Australasia

Australasia is a term variably used to describe a region [i] of Oceania [i] namely Australia [i], New Zealand [i] ... 

 and Antarctica Antarctica

Antarctica is the southernmost continent and encompasses the South Pole [i]. ... 

. They are perennial plant Perennial plant

A perennial plant or perennial is a plant [i] that lives for more than two year [i]s. ... 

s, either herbaceous, dying back in winter or evergreen Evergreen

In botany [i], an evergreen plant is a plant that retains its leaves [i] all year round, with each ... 

 . They mostly grow 0.2-1.5 m tall, though E. telmateia can exceptionally reach 2.5 m, and the tropical American Americas

he Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere [i] or New World [i] consisting o ... 

 species E. giganteum 5 m, and E. myriochaetum 8 m.

In these plants the leaves Leaf

In botany [i], a leaf is an above-ground plant [i] organ [i] specialized for photosynthesis [i]. ... 

 are greatly reduced, in whorl Whorl

Whorl is a type of spiral [i] pattern.
... 

s of small, segments fused into nodal sheaths. The stems are green and photosynthetic Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis , generally, is the synthesis of sugar from light [i], carbon dioxide [i] and water, with ... 

, also distinctive in being hollow, jointed, and ridged . There may or may not be whorls of branches at the nodes; when present, these branches are identical to the main stem except smaller.

The spore Spore

In biology [i], a spore is a reproductive [i] structure that is adapted for dispersion [i] ... 

s are borne in cone-like structures at the tips of some of the stems. In many species the cone-bearing stems are unbranched, and in some they are non-photosynthetic, produced early in spring separately from photosynthetic sterile stems. In some other species they are very similar to sterile stems, photosynthetic and with whorls of branches.


Horsetails are mostly homosporous Spore

In biology [i], a spore is a reproductive [i] structure that is adapted for dispersion [i] ... 

, though in E. arvense, smaller spores give rise to male prothalli. The spore Spore

In biology [i], a spore is a reproductive [i] structure that is adapted for dispersion [i] ... 

s have four elater Elater

An elater is a cell [i] that is hygroscopic [i], and therefore will change shape in response to ch ... 

s that act as moisture-sensitive springs, assisting spore dispersal after the sporangia Sporangium

A sporangium is a plant [i] or fungal [i] structure producing and containing spore [i]s. ... 

 have split open longitudinally.

Many plants in this genus prefer wet sand Sand

Sand is an example of a class of materials called granular matter [i]. ... 

y soil Soil

Soil is the collection of natural bodies that form in earthy material on the land surface.... 

s, though some are aquatic and others adapted to wet clay Clay

Clay is a term used to describe a group of hydrous aluminium [i] phyllosilicate [i] ... 

 soils. One horsetail, E. arvense, can be a nuisance weed because it readily regrows after being pulled out. The stalks arise from rhizome Rhizome

A rhizome is, in botany [i], a usually underground, horizontal stem [i] of a plant [i] that o ... 

s that are deep underground and almost impossible to dig out. It is also unaffected by many herbicide Herbicide

A herbicide is a pesticide [i] used to kill unwanted plant [i]s. ... 

s designed to kill seed plant Spermatophyte

The spermatophytes comprise those plant [i]s that produce seed [i]s. ... 

s. The foliage of some species is poison Poison

In the context of biology [i], poisons are substance [i]s that can cause injury [i], illness [i], or death [i] ... 

ous to grazing animals if eaten in large quantities.

The horsetails were a much larger and more diverse group in the distant past before seed plant Spermatophyte

The spermatophytes comprise those plant [i]s that produce seed [i]s. ... 

s became dominant across the Earth. Some species were large tree Tree

A tree is a large, perennial [i], wood [i]y plant [i]. ... 

s reaching to 30 m tall. The genus Calamites Calamites

Calamites is a genus of extinct [i] arborescent horsetails to which the modern horsetail [i]s are cl ... 

is abundant in coal Coal

Coal is a fossil fuel [i] extracted from the ground by underground mining or open-pit mining . ... 

 deposits from the Carboniferous period.

Species

;Subgenus Equisetum
  • Equisetum arvense - Field or Common Horsetail
  • Equisetum bogotense - Andean Horsetail
  • Equisetum diffusum - Himalayan Horsetail
  • Equisetum fluviatile Water Horsetail

    The Water Horsetail, also known as the Swamp Horsetail, is a perennial [i] horsetail [i] that commonly g ... 

    - Water Horsetail
  • Equisetum palustre - Marsh Horsetail
  • Equisetum pratense - Shade or Meadow Horsetail
  • Equisetum sylvaticum Wood Horsetail

    The Wood Horsetail is a horsetail native to the Northern Hemisphere [i], occurring in North America [i], ... 

    - Wood Horsetail
  • Equisetum telmateia - Great Horsetail

;Subgenus Hippochaete
  • Equisetum giganteum - Giant Horsetail
  • Equisetum myriochaetum - Mexican Giant Horsetail
  • Equisetum hyemale - Rough Horsetail
  • Equisetum laevigatum - Smooth Horsetail
  • Equisetum ramosissimum - Branched Horsetail
  • Equisetum scirpoides - Dwarf Horsetail
  • Equisetum variegatum - Variegated Horsetail

Named hybrids

;Hybrids between species in subgenus Equisetum
  • Equisetum × litorale Kühlew ex Rupr. = Equisetum fluviatile × Equisetum arvense
  • Equisetum × dycei C.N.Page = Equisetum fluviatile × Equisetum palustre
  • Equisetum × willmotii C.N.Page = Equisetum fluviatile × Equisetum telmateia
  • Equisetum × rothmaleri C.N.Page = Equisetum arvense × Equisetum palustre
  • Equisetum × robertsii Dines = Equisetum arvense × Equisetum telmateia
  • Equisetum × mildeanum Rothm. = Equisetum pratense × Equisetum sylvaticum
  • Equisetum × bowmanii C.N.Page = Equisetum sylvaticum × Equisetum telmateia
  • Equisetum × font–queri Rothm. = Equisetum palustre × Equisetum telmateia


;Hybrids between species in subgenus Hippochaete
  • Equisetum × moorei Newman = Equisetum hyemale × Equisetum ramosissimum
  • Equisetum × trachydon A.Braun = Equisetum hyemale × Equisetum variegatum
  • Equisetum × schaffneri Milde = Equisetum giganteum × Equisetum myriochaetum
  • Equisetum × ferrissii Clute = Equisetum hyemale × Equisetum laevigatum
  • Equisetum × nelsonii Schaffn. = Equisetum laevigatum × Equisetum variegatum


The superficially similar flowering plant Flowering plant

The flowering plants are a major group of land plant [i]s.... 

, Mare's tail Hippuris

Hippuris, the Mare's tail, used to be the sole genus in the family Hippuridaceae.... 

 , unrelated to the genus Equisetum, is occasionally misidentified and misnamed as a horsetail.

References and external links

  • Pryer, K. M., Schuettpelz, E., Wolf, P. G., Schneider, H., Smith, A. R., and Cranfill, R. . Phylogeny and evolution of ferns with a focus on the early leptosporangiate divergences. American Journal of Botany 91: 1582-1598 .
  • - includes a taxonomic list of all known species and hybrids



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