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Water Horsetail

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	Water Horsetail
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	Topics Water Horsetail Topic Home The Water Horsetail (Equisetum fluviatile), also known as the Swamp Horsetail, is a perennialPerennial plant A perennial plant or perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years.... horsetailHorsetail Overview The horsetails are vascular plants, comprising 15 species of plants in the genus *Equisetum.... that commonly grows in dense colonies along freshwater shorelines or in shallow water, growing in ponds, swampSwamp A swamp* is a wetland that features permanent inundation of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water, generally with a ... s, ditches, and other sluggish or still waters with mud bottoms. It is a herbaceousHerbaceous In botany, herbs are plants that do not produce a woody stem, and in temperate climates usually die, either completely or ba... species, growing 30-100 cm (rarely 140 cm) tall with erect dark green stems 2-8 mm in diameter, smooth, with about 10-30 fine ridges. At each joint, the stem has a whorl of tiny, black-tipped scale leavesLeaf In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis.... 5-10 mm long. Many, but not all, stems also have whorls of short ascending and spreading branches 1-5 cm long, with the longest branches on the lower middle of the stem. The side branches are slender, dark green, and have 1-8 nodes with a whorl of five scale leaves at each node. The Water Horsetail has the largest central hollow of the horsetails, with 80% of the stem diameter typically being hollow. The stems readily pull apart at the joints, and both fertile and sterile stems look alike. The Water Horsetail reproduces both by sporeFacts About Spore In biology, a spore is a reproductive structure that is adapted for dispersion and surviving for extended periods of time in... s and vegetatively by rhizomeRhizome A rhizome is, in botany, a usually underground, horizontal stem of a plant that often sends out roots and shoots from its no... s. It primarily reproduces by vegetative means, with the majority of shoots arising from rhizomes. Spores are produced in blunt-tipped cones at the tips of some stems. The spore cones are yellowish-green, 1-2 cm long and 1 cm broad, with numerous scales in dense whorls. The Water Horsetail ranges throughout the temperate Northern HemisphereNorthern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet's surface that is north of the equator .... , from EurasiaEurasia Eurasia is the landmass composed of Europe and Asia.... south to central SpainSpain Spain, officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a European parliamentary monarchy.... , northern ItalyItaly Italy, officially the Italian Republic , is a Southern European country.... , the CaucasusCaucasus The Caucasus or Caucasia is a region in Eurasia bordered on the south by Turkey and Iran in Asia, on the west by the B... , ChinaChina China is a cultural region and ancient civilization in East Asia.... , KoreaKorea KoreaOne of the world's oldest civilizations, Korea began with the founding of Gojoseon in 2333 BC, according to the Dangun... and JapanJapan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of China, Korea, and Russia, stretching from... , and in North AmericaNorth America North America is a continent in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost fully in the western hemisphere.... from the Aleutian IslandsAleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands are a chain of more than 300 small volcanic islands forming an island arc in the Northern Pacific Ocea... to Newfoundland, south to OregonOregon Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States.... , IdahoIdaho Idaho is a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States.... , northwest MontanaMontana Montana is a state in the Pacific Northwest and Great Plains regions of the United States.... , northeast WyomingWyoming Wyoming is a state of the western United States.... , West VirginiaWest Virginia West Virginia is a state of the United States in the region of Appalachia, also known as The Mountain State.... and VirginiaVirginia The Commonwealth of Virginia is one of the original thirteen colonies of the United States that revolted against British ru... . This horsetail is sometimes seen as an invasive speciesInvasive species The term invasive species refers to a subset of those species defined as introduced species or non-indigenous species.... because it is very hardy and tends to overwhelm other garden plants unless it is contained. When planting, it is best to plant them with the rhizome in a container. The Water Horsetail is most often confused with the Marsh Horsetail E. palustre, which has rougher stems with fewer (4-8) stem ridges with a smaller hollow in the stem centre, and longer spore cones 2-4 cm long. Uses The Water Horsetail has historically been used by both EuropeEurope Summary Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth.... ans and Native AmericansIndigenous peoples of the Americas The term Indigenous peoples of the Americas encompasses the inhabitants of the Americas before the European discovery of the... for scouring, sanding, and filing because of the high silica content in the stems. Early spring shoots were eaten. Medically it was used by the ancient Greeks and Romans to stop bleeding and treat kidneyKidney The fishes are green yellow pink and red excretory organs in vertebrates.... ailments, ulcerUlcer An ulcer is an open sore of the skin, eyes or mucous membrane, often caused by an initial abrasion and generally maintained ... s, and tuberculosisTuberculosis Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which most commonly affects t... , and by the ancient Chinese to treat superficial visual obstructions. Rootstocks and stems are sometimes eaten by waterfowlWaterfowl Waterfowl are certain wildfowl of the order Anseriformes, especially members of the family Anatidae, which includes ducks, g... . Horsetails absorb heavy metals from the soilSoil Soil is the collection of natural bodies that form in earthy material on the land surface.... , and are often used in bioassays for metals. According to Carolus LinnaeusCarolus Linnaeus Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as Carl von Linn, , was a Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist... , reindeerReindeer The reindeer, known as caribou when wild in North America, is an Arctic and Subarctic-dwelling deer. ... , which refuse ordinary hay, will eat this horsetail, which is juicy, and that it is cut as fodder in the north of SwedenSweden The Kingdom of Sweden is a Nordic country in Scandinavia.... for cows, with a view to increasing their milkMilk Milk is the nutrient fluid produced by the mammary glands of female mammals .... yield, but that horseFacts About Horse The horse is a large odd-toed ungulate mammal, one of ten modern species of the genus Equus.... s will not touch it. External links - basic information on the Water Horsetail. tion on the Water Horsetail.