Branched horsetail is an evergreen horsetail native to Europe, Africa, and much of Asia, with jointed green stems that often send out a few thin side branches, unlike the familiar scouring rush. In the US it's a rare introduced plant found in only a few places in the Southeast, probably brought over from Europe in ship ballast.
Appearance
- Appearance
- Jointed green stems, often with a blue-gray tint and rough, prominent ridges. Thin side branches grow irregularly, mostly from the lower part of the stem; on rocky ground the plant looks bushier.
- Growth form
- An evergreen perennial that spreads by underground rhizomes and can form patches. Cutting or trampling changes its shape.
- Flowers
- Doesn't flower. Small cones with pointed tips form at the stem tips and release spores.
Look-alikes
Rough horsetail usually has straight, unbranched stems. Branched horsetail is generally thinner, puts out a few side branches, and its sheaths have green edges with short teeth that stay on; rough horsetail sheaths turn brown at the rim and lose their long, slender teeth.
Why they get mixed upBoth are evergreen horsetails with upright, jointed green stems.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- stream banks
- moist meadows
- path edges
- sandy floodplains
- Range
- Native to Europe, Africa, and much of Asia. In the US it is a rare introduced plant recorded in Florida, Louisiana, and North Carolina.
- Preferred conditions
- Grows in damp places such as stream banks, wet meadow edges, and gravelly or sandy ground. The Florida record comes from sandy soil on a river floodplain.
Life cycle
- Reproduction
- Spreads by spores from the stem-tip cones and by creeping rhizomes. The cones form on the regular green stems rather than on separate stems that come up early in the season.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- LCLeast ConcernLow risk of extinction
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