Plantae > Tracheophyta > Polypodiopsida > Equisetales > Equisetaceae > Equisetum > Equisetum pratense

Equisetum pratense (meadow horsetail)

Synonyms:

Wikipedia Abstract

Equisetum pratense, commonly known as meadow horsetail, shade horsetail or shady horsetail, is a plant species belonging to the division of horsetails (Equisetophyta). Shade horsetail can be commonly found in forests with tall trees or very thick foliage that can provide shade. They also tend to grow closer and thicker around streams, ponds and rivers.
View Wikipedia Record: Equisetum pratense

Attributes

Edible [1]  May be edible. See the Plants For A Future link below for details.
Hazards [1]  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 [2]  Evergreen
Lifespan [1]  Perennial
Structure [2]  Fern
Height [1]  24 inches (0.6 m)
Light Preference [3]  Mostly Sunny
Soil Acidity [3]  Moderate Acid
Soil Fertility [3]  Mostly Infertile
Soil Moisture [3]  Damp
View Plants For A Future Record : Equisetum pratense

Protected Areas

Predators

Dolerus pratorum[4]

Citations

Attributes / relations provided by
1Plants For A Future licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
2Kattge, J. et al. (2011b) TRY - a global database of plant traits Global Change Biology 17:2905-2935
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)
4Biological Records Centre Database of Insects and their Food Plants
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