Plantae > Tracheophyta > Polypodiopsida > Equisetales > Equisetaceae > Equisetum > Equisetum sylvaticum

Equisetum sylvaticum (woodland horsetail)

Synonyms:

Wikipedia Abstract

The wood horsetail (Equisetum sylvaticum) is a horsetail (family Equisetaceae) native to the Northern Hemisphere, occurring in North America and Eurasia. Because of its lacy appearance, it is considered among the most attractive of the horsetails.
View Wikipedia Record: Equisetum sylvaticum

Infraspecies

Equisetum sylvaticum var. pauciramosum
Equisetum sylvaticum var. sylvaticum

Attributes

Bloom Period [1]  Spring
Drought Tolerance [1]  High
Edible [2]  May be edible. See the Plants For A Future link below for details.
Fire Tolerance [1]  None
Frost Free Days [1]  3 months 10 days
Fruit/Seed Abundance [1]  Medium
Fruit/Seed Begin [1]  Spring
Fruit/Seed End [1]  Fall
Growth Form [1]  Rhizomatous
Growth Period [1]  Spring
Growth Rate [1]  Rapid
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 [3]  Evergreen
Lifespan [2]  Perennial
Propagation [1]  Seed, Sprig, Tuber
Regrowth Rate [1]  Slow
Root Depth [1]  6 inches (15 cm)
Seed Spread Rate [1]  Slow
Seed Vigor [1]  Medium
Shape/Orientation [1]  Erect
Structure [3]  Fern
Usage [2]  The stems can be used for scouring and polishing metal and as a fine sandpaper; The stems are first bleached by repeated wetting and drying in the sun; They can also be used as a polish for wooden floors and furniture; The infused stem is an effective fungicide against mildew, mint rust and blackspot on roses; It also makes a good liquid feed; Used as a hair rinse it can eliminate fleas, lice and mites; A light pink dye is obtained from the stem;
Vegetative Spread Rate [1]  Moderate
Flower Color [1]  Green
Foliage Color [1]  Green
Fruit Color [1]  Green
Height [2]  24 inches (0.6 m)
Hardiness Zone Minimum [1]  USDA Zone: 2 Low Temperature: -50 F° (-45.6 C°) → -40 F° (-40 C°)
Light Preference [4]  Mixed Sun/Shade
Soil Acidity [4]  Moderate Acid
Soil Fertility [4]  Intermediate
Soil Moisture [4]  Damp
Water Use [1]  Low
Screening - Summer [1]  Porous
Screening - Winter [1]  Porous
View Plants For A Future Record : Equisetum sylvaticum

Protected Areas

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Ecosystems

Predators

Dolerus gessneri[5]
Dolerus vestigialis[5]

External References

USDA Plant Profile

NatureServe Explorer

Citations

Attributes / relations provided by
♦ 1USDA Plants Database, U. S. Department of Agriculture
♦ 2Plants For A Future licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
♦ 3Kattge, J. et al. (2011b) TRY - a global database of plant traits Global Change Biology 17:2905-2935
♦ 4ECOFACT 2a Technical Annex - Ellenberg’s indicator values for British Plants, M O Hill, J O Mountford, D B Roy & R G H Bunce (1999)
♦ 5Biological 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