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Smooth horsetail

Equisetum laevigatum

Also called Smooth Scouring Rush, Horsetail, Smooth Scouringrush, Summer Horsetail, Summer Scouring Rush

Smooth horsetail
Photo: Walter Siegmund (talk), CC BY-SA 4.0
Family
Equisetaceae (Equiset family)
Grows as
Annual, Perennial
Native range
Russian Far East, Canada to Mexico
Climate
temperate

About

Equisetum laevigatum is a species of horsetail in the family Equisetaceae. It is known by the common names smooth horsetail and smooth scouring rush. This plant is native to much of North America except for northern Canada and southern Mexico. It is usually found in moist areas in sandy and gravelly substrates. It may be annual or perennial. It grows narrow green stems sometimes reaching heights exceeding 1.5 meters (4 ft 11 in). The leaves at the nodes are small, scale-like brownish sheaths and there are occasionally small, spindly branches. The stems are topped with rounded cone-shaped sporangia.

Other Equisetum plants

Field Horsetail · Andean Horsetail · Braun's Horsetail · Equisetum diffusum · Water horsetail · Southern Giant Horsetail · Rough Horsetail · Equisetum ×moorei · Mexican Giant Horsetail · Marsh horsetail · Scouringrush Horsetail · Shady Horsetail

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Equisetum laevigatum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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