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Marsh Horsetail

Marsh Horsetail

Equisetum palustre

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How common: Common

Marsh Horsetail is a small, green, jointed plant of wet places. You can see it in marshes, along shores, around springs and ditches, and on peaty or damp, nutrient-rich ground. It is very poisonous, so do not eat it and keep livestock away.

Did you know?

  • Its cone-like spore head grows on the green summer stem (not on a separate spring shoot like in Field Horsetail).
  • Very poisonous; grazing animals can be affected.

About the species

Identification

A 20–40 cm tall horsetail with upright, smooth, green stems that have 5–10 narrow ridges. Branching is uneven and sparse; some plants have no branches. Side branches, when present, are almost as thick as the stem, curve upward and do not rebranch. At each joint the tiny leaves form a loose tube with 5–10 dark brown teeth with pale edges; at the base of each branch the tube is glossy black. A cone-like spore head sits at the tip of the green stem. Differs from Field Horsetail, which has separate pale spring shoots and finer, feathery summer branches.

Plant group

Ferns, horsetails and clubmosses

Habitat

mire

Toxicity

A poisonous plant – do not taste it. Source: HUS Poison Information Centre (Finland), tel. 0800 147 111.

About the habitat

Wet, nutrient-rich ground: marshes and fens, springy seepages, wet meadows and pastures, peaty fields, and the edges of ditches, roads and railways. Common throughout the country.

Sources

Photo: Sim Elliott, CC0 1.0 https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/6178713777

Text: Pinkka: Maatalouslajintuntemus - Sanikkaiset, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.37718

Text: Pinkka: Verso- ja leviäintunnistus - Kaikki versot, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.37718

Text: Pinkka: Kasvitieteen retkeily Ahvenanmaalle - Lyhyet pysähdykset Ahvenanmaalla, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.37718

Text: Pinkka: A Pohjolan kasveja - Saniaiset ja liekokasvit, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.37718

Text: Pinkka: Metsälajintuntemus - Sanikkaiset, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.37718

Text: Pinkka: BIO-514 Pohjois-Suomen putkilokasvit - Saniaiset ja liekokasvit, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.37718

Text: Wikipedia (Finnish), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suokorte

See also