Wood Horsetail
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Equisetophyta Class: Equisetopsida Order: Equisetales Family: Equisetaceae Genus: Equisetum Species: E. sylvaticum
Binomial name
Equisetum sylvaticum L.

The Wood Horsetail (Equisetum sylvaticum) is a horsetail (family Equisetaceae) native to the Northern Hemisphere, occurring in North America, Eurasia, and Asia. Because of its lacy appearance, it is considered among the most attractive of the horsetails. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 244 × 598 pixel Image in higher resolution (418 × 1024 pixel, file size: 177 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Description: Equisetum sylvaticum Picture taken by BerndH Date: 24. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... Divisions Green algae Chlorophyta Charophyta Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta—liverworts Anthocerotophyta—hornworts Bryophyta—mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) †Rhyniophyta—rhyniophytes †Zosterophyllophyta—zosterophylls Lycopodiophyta—clubmosses †Trimerophytophyta—trimerophytes Pteridophyta—ferns and horsetails Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta—seed ferns Pinophyta—conifers Cycadophyta—cycads Ginkgophyta—ginkgo Gnetophyta—gnetae Magnoliophyta—flowering plants... Classes Equisetopsida The division Equisetophyta is a taxon in the kingdom Plantae containing primitive land plants. ... Species Subgenus Equisetum Equisetum arvense - Field or Common Horsetail Equisetum bogotense - Andean Horsetail Equisetum diffusum - Himalayan Horsetail Equisetum fluviatile - Water Horsetail Equisetum palustre - Marsh Horsetail Equisetum pratense - Shade Horsetail Equisetum sylvaticum - Wood Horsetail Equisetum telmateia - Great Horsetail Subgenus Hippochaete Equisetum giganteum - Giant Horsetail Equisetum myriochaetum - Mexican Giant Horsetail Equisetum hyemale... Species The horsetails are vascular plants, comprising 15 species of plants in the genus Equisetum. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as  , (May 23, 1707[1] – January 10, 1778), was a Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist[2] who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of nomenclature. ... Species Subgenus Equisetum Equisetum arvense - Field or Common Horsetail Equisetum bogotense - Andean Horsetail Equisetum diffusum - Himalayan Horsetail Equisetum fluviatile - Water Horsetail Equisetum palustre - Marsh Horsetail Equisetum pratense - Shade Horsetail Equisetum sylvaticum - Wood Horsetail Equisetum telmateia - Great Horsetail Subgenus Hippochaete Equisetum giganteum - Giant Horsetail Equisetum myriochaetum - Mexican Giant Horsetail Equisetum hyemale... The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planets surface (or celestial sphere) that is north of the equator (the word hemisphere literally means half ball). On the Earth, the Northern Hemisphere contains most of the land and about 88-90% of the human population. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... Eurasia African-Eurasian aspect of Earth Eurasia is the Earths largest landmass covering about 21215121321km² compared with the Americas (approximately 42,000,000 km²), Africa (approximately 30,000,000 km²), and Antarctica (approximately 13,000,000 km²). Eurasia comprises the traditional continents of Europe and Asia. ... World map showing the location of Asia. ...

Botanical description

This perennial horsetail has erect, hollow stems that grow from 30 to 60 cm in length and from 1-4 mm thick. The branches themselves are compound and delicate, occurring in whorls and drooping downward. There are generally 12 or more branches per whorl. Fertile stems are at first tan-to-brown and unbranched, but later become like the sterile stems, which are more highly branched and green. All the stems have 10-18 spiny vertical ridges that contain silica spicules. The leaves are scales fused into sheaths that cover the stems and branches. These spiny leaves are larger and looser on the fertile stems. A Red Valerian, a perennial plant. ... The chemical compound silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is the oxide of silicon, chemical formula SiO2. ... “Foliage” redirects here. ...

The fertile stems are shorter than the others; on these develop the cones that bear the spore casings. The leaves develop on the fertile stems and the stems lengthen; then the cones open to release their spores. The cones then drop off. This process takes a few weeks. All the stems may continue to grow until fall and generally die back over winter. This article is about a biological reproductive structure; for the video game, see Spore (video game). ...

Reproduction

This plant reproduces by spores, but its primary means of reproduction is done vegetatively by rhizomes. These rhizome systems are deep and extensive, as well as extremely long-lived. These creeping rhizomes occasionally produce tubers, and often outweigh the above-ground growth by 100 to 1. Ginger rhizome A rhizome is, in botany, a usually underground, horizontal stem of a plant that often sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. ... Not to be confused with benign tumours such as tuberous sclerosis. ...

Habitat

These horsetails are commonly found in wet or swampy forest, open woodlands, and meadow areas. The species name sylvaticum is Latin for "of the forests", emphasizing that the Wood Horsetail is most commonly found in forested habitats. The plant is an indicator of boreal and cool-temperate climates, and very moist to wet, nitrogen-poor soils. Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ... General Name, Symbol, Number nitrogen, N, 7 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 15, 2, p Appearance colorless gas Standard atomic weight 14. ... For the American hard rock band, see Soil (band). ...

See also

• Water Horsetail

Binomial name Equisetum fluviatile L. The Water Horsetail (Equisetum fluviatile), also known as the Swamp Horsetail, is a perennial horsetail that commonly grows in dense colonies along freshwater shorelines or in shallow water, growing in ponds, swamps, ditches, and other sluggish or still waters with mud bottoms. ...

References

• Borealforest.com entry for Wood Horsetail
• The Wood Horsetail