Flora of North America species comparison

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Equisetum laevigatum

smooth horsetail, smooth scouring-rush
Sheaths

green, elongate, 7–15 × 3–9 mm;

teeth 10–32, articulate and usually shed early, leaving dark rim on sheath.
Aerial stems

lasting less than a year, occasionally overwintering in the southwestern United States, usually unbranched, 20–150 cm;

lines of stomates single;

ridges 10–32.
Cone

apex rounded to apiculate with blunt tip;

spores green, spheric.
2n

=216.

Equisetum laevigatum
Phenology Cones maturing in spring–early summer.
Habitat Moist prairies, riverbanks, roadsides
Elevation 1530–3500 m (5000–11500 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AR; AZ; CA; CO; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; MI; MN; MO; MT; ND; NE; NM; NV; OH; OK; OR; SD; TX; UT; WA; WI; WY; AB; BC; MB; ON; QC; SK; n Mexico including Baja California
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Schaffner named this species Equisetum kansanum because he applied the name E. laevigatum to what we now know is the hybrid E. × ferrissii. The coarser-stemmed, occasionally persistent forms in the southwestern United States have been called Equisetum funstonii.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 2.
Parent taxa Equisetaceae > Equisetum > subg. Equisetum
Sibling taxa
E. arvense, E. fluviatile, E. hyemale, E. palustre, E. pratense, E. ramosissimum, E. scirpoides, E. sylvaticum, E. telmateia, E. variegatum, E. ×ferrissii, E. ×litorale, E. ×mackaii, E. ×nelsonii
Synonyms E. funstonii
Name authority A. Braun: Amer. J. Sci. Arts 46: 87. (1844)
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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