Horse or Mares tail - Equisetum arvense, species information page

Horse or Mares tail - Equisetum arvense sterile stem habit, click for a larger photo

Horse or Mares tail - Equisetum arvense fertile stem habit, click for a larger photo

Horse (mares) tail - Equisetum arvense

Commonest of the horsetails growing to 75cm (30in) forming patches of dense growth in grassy areas and waste ground. Two stem types produced, fertile at 10-20cm (4-8in) high produced before the unfertile which are usually about 50cm (20in) high, with dark green ridged stems and disks of small branches. Fertile stems appear in the spring with a brown cone spike ripening and releasing the spores during March to April.

It has a long rhizome root system always growing in wet areas, ponds, marshes, ditches and flood meadows producing stems at close intervals, with the number of leaves matching the number of stem ridges. Pervasive growth usually regarded as a weed that is hard to eradicate, regular mowing seeming to work the best.

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