Equisetaceae

1 gen., cosmop. except Australasia

Equisetum L.

1 species naturalized AUST.; N.S.W.

*Equisetum arvense L.

Perennial herb with pubescent, long-creeping rhizome. Stems erect, jointed, hollow, with 4–19 grooves and 4–19 small whorled leaves fused into a nodal sheath. Sterile stems up to 40 cm high, usually much branched; the branches simple, green. Fertile stems shorter, unbranched, light green with darker leaves. Strobili 1–4 cm long, terminal on the fertile stems, composed of elongate longitudinally dehiscing sporangia hanging from a peltate structure. Spores round, green, with 4 paddle shaped elaters. Recorded from Belrose. Introd. from Europe. Common Horsetail