Flora of North America species comparison

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Equisetum fluviatile

Equisetum subg. Hippochaete

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

scouring rush
Sheaths

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

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

Aerial stems

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

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

vallecular canals absent.

persisting more than a year (except Equisetum laevigatum), with sunken stomates in single lines on each side of stem valleys;

branches generally lacking or few (except E. ramosissimum).
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.

Cones

sharply pointed at apex (except E. laevigatum).
2n

=216.

Equisetum fluviatile

Equisetum subg. Hippochaete
Phenology Cones maturing in summer.
Habitat Standing in water, in ponds, ditches, marshes, swales
Elevation 0–1500 m (0–4900 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]
Nearly worldwide
Discussion

The only species of this subgenus in the flora that is regularly branched, bearing several branches per midstem node, is Equisetum ramosissimum. The others, though normally unbranched, with age or injury may develop one or a few branches, usually from the proximal or most distal nodes.

Species 7 (5 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 2. FNA vol. 2.
Parent taxa Equisetaceae > Equisetum > subg. Hippochaete Equisetaceae > Equisetum
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
Subordinate taxa
Synonyms E. limosum subg. Hippochaete
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 1062. (1753) (J. Milde) Baker: Handb. Fern-Allies 3. (1887)
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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