Plantae > Tracheophyta > Polypodiopsida > Equisetales > Equisetaceae > Equisetum > Equisetum variegatum

Equisetum variegatum (variegated horsetail; variegated scouring-rush; variegated scouringrush)

Wikipedia Abstract

Equisetum variegatum (commonly known as variegated horsetail or variegated scouring rush) is a horsetail native to the Northern Hemisphere.
View Wikipedia Record: Equisetum variegatum

Infraspecies

Equisetum variegatum alaskanum (Alaskan scouringrush)
Equisetum variegatum variegatum (Variegated Horsetail)

Attributes

Hazards [2]  Large quantities of the plant can be toxic. This is because it contains the enzyme thiaminase; In small quantities this enzyme will do no harm to people eating an adequate diet that is rich in vitamin B, though large quantities can cause severe health problems. The enzyme is destroyed by heat or thorough drying, so cooking the plant will remove the thiaminase; The plant also contains equisetic acid - see the notes on medicinal uses for more information;
Leaf Type [1]  Evergreen
Lifespan [2]  Perennial
Structure [1]  Fern
Usage [2]  The stems contain 10% silica and are used for scouring metal; They can also be used as a polish for brass, hardwood etc; The infused stem is an effective fungicide against mildew, mint rust and blackspot on roses; It also makes a good liquid feed;
Height [2]  24 inches (0.6 m)
Width [2]  39 inches (1 m)
Light Preference [3]  Mostly Sunny
Soil Acidity [3]  Neutral
Soil Fertility [3]  Mostly Infertile
Soil Moisture [3]  Damp
View Plants For A Future Record : Equisetum variegatum

Protected Areas

Predators

Septoriella vagans[4]

External References

USDA Plant Profile

NatureServe Explorer

Citations

Attributes / relations provided by
♦ 1Kattge, J. et al. (2011b) TRY - a global database of plant traits Global Change Biology 17:2905-2935
♦ 2Plants For A Future licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
♦ 3ECOFACT 2a Technical Annex - Ellenberg’s indicator values for British Plants, M O Hill, J O Mountford, D B Roy & R G H Bunce (1999)
♦ 4Jorrit H. Poelen, James D. Simons and Chris J. Mungall. (2014). Global Biotic Interactions: An open infrastructure to share and analyze species-interaction datasets. Ecological Informatics.
Abstract provided by DBpedia licensed under a Creative Commons License
Species taxanomy provided by GBIF Secretariat (2022). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2023-06-13; License: CC BY 4.0