Flora of North America species comparison

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Equisetum fluviatile

Equisetum pratense

pipes, prêle fluviatile, river horsetail, swamp horsetail, water horsetail

meadow horsetail, prêle des prés, shady horsetail
Sheaths

squarish in face view, ca. 4–10 × 4–10 mm;

teeth black, occasionally with narrow white border, 12–24, narrow, 2–3 mm.

somewhat elongate, 3–5 × 2–4 mm;

teeth 8–18, narrow, 1.5–4 mm, centers dark and margins white.
Aerial stems

monomorphic, green, unbranched or branched, 35–115 cm;

hollow center large, to 9/10 stem diam.;

vallecular canals absent.

dimorphic;

vegetative stems green, branched, 16–50 cm;

hollow center 1/6–1/3 stem diam.
Fertile stems

brown, with stomates, initially unbranched, persisting and becoming branched and green after spore discharge.
Branches

when present only from midstem nodes, spreading, hollow, ridges 4–6, valleys rounded; 1st internode of each branch shorter than subtending stem sheath;

sheath teeth narrow.

in regular whorls, horizontal to drooping, solid;

ridges 3;

valleys channeled; 1st internode of each branch equal to or longer than subtending stem sheath;

sheath teeth deltate.
2n

=216.

Equisetum fluviatile

Equisetum pratense
Phenology Cones maturing in summer. Cones maturing in late spring.
Habitat Standing in water, in ponds, ditches, marshes, swales Meadows, wet woodlands
Elevation 0–1500 m (0–4900 ft) 0–2000 m (0–6600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CT; DC; DE; IA; ID; IL; IN; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MT; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; SD; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NF; NS; NT; ON; PE; QC; SK; YT; SPM; Alaska including the Aleutian Islands; Eurasia s to n Italy; China; Korea; Japan
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; CT; IA; IL; MA; ME; MI; MN; ND; NH; NY; VT; WI; AB; BC; MB; NB; NF; NS; NT; ON; PE; QC; SK; YT; n Eurasia to ne China; Japan in Hokkaido
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Source FNA vol. 2. FNA vol. 2.
Parent taxa Equisetaceae > Equisetum > subg. Hippochaete Equisetaceae > Equisetum > subg. Hippochaete
Sibling taxa
E. arvense, E. hyemale, E. laevigatum, E. palustre, E. pratense, E. ramosissimum, E. scirpoides, E. sylvaticum, E. telmateia, E. variegatum, E. ×ferrissii, E. ×litorale, E. ×mackaii, E. ×nelsonii
E. arvense, E. fluviatile, E. hyemale, E. laevigatum, E. palustre, E. ramosissimum, E. scirpoides, E. sylvaticum, E. telmateia, E. variegatum, E. ×ferrissii, E. ×litorale, E. ×mackaii, E. ×nelsonii
Synonyms E. limosum
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 1062. (1753) Ehrhart: Hannover. Mag. 22: 138. (1784)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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(If the plant you're looking for doesn't show up in the auto-complete list, that means it either isn't described in Flora of North America yet, or it's listed under a synonym. And please note that Flora of North America is still missing several plant families, including Fabaceae, Apiaceae, Boraginaceae, and Polemoniaceae.)

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