Flora of North America species comparison

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Equisetum hyemale

Equisetum palustre

common scouring-rush, prêle d'hiver, scouring horsetail, scouring rush, scouringrush horsetail, tall scouring-rush

marsh horsetail, prêle des marais
Sheaths

elongate, 4–9 × 2–5 mm;

teeth dark, 5–10, narrow, 2–5 mm, margins white, scarious.
Aerial stems

monomorphic, green, branched or unbranched, 20–80 cm;

hollow center small, to 1/3 stem diam.;

vallecular canals nearly as large.
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.
2n

=216.

Equisetum hyemale

Equisetum palustre
Phenology Cones maturing in summer.
Habitat Marshes and swamps
Elevation 0–1500m (0–4900ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; AZ; CA; CO; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NF; NS; NT; ON; PE; QC; SK; YT; Mexico; Central America in Guatemala; Europe; Asia
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; CA; ID; ME; MI; MN; MT; ND; NH; NY; OR; PA; VT; WA; WI; AB; BC; MB; NB; NF; NS; NT; ON; PE; QC; SK; YT; Eurasia s to Himalayas; n China; Korea; Japan
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Subspecies 2 (1 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

The name Equisetum palustre var. americanum has been used for specimens from the flora that have longer teeth than those from Eurasia.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 2. FNA vol. 2.
Parent taxa Equisetaceae > Equisetum > subg. Equisetum Equisetaceae > Equisetum > subg. Hippochaete
Sibling taxa
E. arvense, E. fluviatile, 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. pratense, E. ramosissimum, E. scirpoides, E. sylvaticum, E. telmateia, E. variegatum, E. ×ferrissii, E. ×litorale, E. ×mackaii, E. ×nelsonii
Subordinate taxa
E. hyemale subsp. affine
Synonyms E. palustre var. americanum
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 1062. (1753) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 1061. (1753)
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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