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Equisetidae is one of the four subclasses of Polypodiopsida (ferns), a group of vascular plants with a fossil record going back to the Devonian. They are commonly known as horsetails. [2] They typically grow in wet areas, with whorls of needle-like branches radiating at regular intervals from a single vertical stem.
Equisetaceae is the only surviving family of the Equisetales, a group with many fossils of large tree-like plants that possessed ribbed stems similar to modern horsetails. Pseudobornia is the oldest known relative of Equisetum; it grew in the late Devonian, about 375 million years ago and is assigned to its own order.
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- Etymology
- Description
- Taxonomy
- Distribution and Ecology
- Consumption
- Folk Medicine and Safety Concerns
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The name "horsetail", often used for the entire group, arose because the branched species somewhat resemble a horse's tail. Similarly, the scientific name Equisetum is derived from the Latin equus ('horse') + seta('bristle'). Other names include candock for branching species, and snake grass or scouring-rush for unbranched or sparsely branched spec...
Equisetum leaves are greatly reduced and usually non-photosynthetic. They contain a single, non-branching vascular trace, which is the defining feature of microphylls. However, it has recently been recognised that horsetail microphylls are probably not ancestral as in lycophytes (clubmosses and relatives), but rather derived adaptations, evolved by...
Species
The living members of the genus Equisetum are divided into three distinct lineages, which are usually treated as subgenera. The name of the type subgenus, Equisetum, means "horse hair" in Latin, while the name of the other large subgenus, Hippochaete, means "horse hair" in Greek. Hybrids are common, but hybridization has only been recorded between members of the same subgenus. While plants of subgenus Equisetum are usually referred to as horsetails, those of subgenus Hippochaete are often cal...
Evolutionary history
The oldest remains of modern horsetails of the genus Equisetum first appear in the Early Jurassic, represented by Equisetum dimorphum from the Early Jurassic of Patagonia and Equisetum laterale from the Early-Middle Jurassic of Australia. Silicified remains of Equisetum thermale from the Late Jurassic of Argentina exhibit all the morphological characters of modern members of the genus. The estimated split between Equisetum bogotense and all other living Equisetumis estimated to have occurred...
The genus Equisetum as a whole, while concentrated in the non-tropical northern hemisphere, is near-cosmopolitan, being absent only from Antarctica, though they are not known to be native to Australia, New Zealand nor the islands of the Pacific. They are most common in northern North America (Canada and the northernmost United States), where the ge...
People have regularly consumed horsetails. For example, the fertile stems bearing strobili of some species are cooked and eaten like asparagus (a dish called tsukushi(土筆) in Japan[failed verification]). Indigenous nations across Cascadia consume and use horsetails in a variety of ways, with the Squamish calling them sx̱ém'x̱em and the Lushootseed u...
Extracts and other preparations of E. arvense have served as herbal remedies, with records dating over centuries. In 2009, the European Food Safety Authority concluded there was no evidence for the supposed health effects of E. arvense, such as for invigoration, weight control, skincare, hair health or bone health. As of 2018[update], there is insu...
Husby, Chad E.; Walkowiak, Radosław J. (2012). Zawada, Beth (ed.). "An Introduction to the Genus Equisetum (Horsetail) and the Class Equisetopsida (Sphenopsida) as a whole" (PDF). IEA Paper. Intern...Weber, Reinhard (June 2005). "Equisetites aequecaliginosus sp. nov., ein Riesenschachtelhalm aus der spättriassischen Formation Santa Clara, Sonora, Mexiko" [Equisetites aequecaliginosus sp. nov.,...Teichman, Rachel (2021-08-03). "The Ancient (Native) Horsetail: Sometimes Unwelcomed, Always Fascinating! – SSISC". SSISC – Sea to Sky Invasive Species Council. Retrieved 2021-08-06.National Collection of Equisetum"Horsetail" . Encyclopædia Britannica(11th ed.). 1911.Equisetales. Equisetopsida, (division Pteridophyta), class of primitive spore-bearing vascular plants. Most members of the group are extinct and known only from their fossilized remains. The sole living genus, Equisetum, order Equisetales, is made up of 15 species of very ancient herbaceous plants, the horsetails and scouring rushes.
Equisetum hyemale (commonly known as rough horsetail, [1] scouring rush, scouringrush horsetail and, in South Africa, as snake grass) is an evergreen perennial herbaceous pteridophyte in the horsetail family Equisetaceae. It is a native plant throughout the Holarctic Kingdom, found in North America, Europe, and northern Asia .
Equisetum variegatum. Schleich. ex Weber & Mohr. Synonyms. Hippochaete variegata. Equisetum variegatum, commonly known as variegated horsetail [1] or variegated scouring rush, is a species of vascular plant in the horsetail family Equisetaceae. It is native to the Northern Hemisphere where it has a circumpolar distribution.
Equisetales. Equisetales DC. ex Bercht. & J. Presl. Equisetales is an order of subclass Equisetidae with only one living family, Equisetaceae, containing the genus Equisetum (horsetails), as well as a variety of extinct groups, including the tree-like Calamitaceae .
