Equisetum arvense

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Equisetum arvense
Photosynthetic summer branches

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Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: Polypodiophyta
Class: Polypodiopsida
Subclass: Equisetidae
Order: Equisetales
Family: Equisetaceae
Genus: Equisetum
Subgenus: E. subg. Equisetum
Species:
E. arvense
Binomial name
Equisetum arvense
Synonyms[1]
  • Allosites arvense Brogn.
  • Equisetum arvense fo. arcticum (Rupr.) M. Broun
  • Equisetum arvense fo. boreale (Bong.) Klinge
  • Equisetum arvense fo. campestre (Schultz) Klinge
  • Equisetum arvense fo. ramulosum (Rupr.) Klinge ex Scoggan
  • Equisetum arvense subsp. boreale (Bong.) Á. Löve
  • Equisetum arvense subsp. ramulosum (Rupr.) W.F. Rapp
  • Equisetum arvense var. arcticum Rupr.
  • Equisetum arvense var. campestre (Schultz) Rupr.
  • Equisetum arvense var. ramulosum Rupr.
  • Equisetum boreale Bong.
  • Equisetum calderi B. Boivin
  • Equisetum campestre Schultz
  • Equisetum saxicola Suksd.
Fertile shoot

Equisetum arvense, the field horsetail or common horsetail, is an

rhizomatous stem system. The fertile stems are produced in early spring and are non-photosynthetic, while the green sterile stems start to grow after the fertile stems have wilted and persist through the summer until the first autumn frosts.[2][3] It is sometimes confused with mare's tail, Hippuris vulgaris.[4]

Rhizomes can pierce through the soil up to 6 feet (1.8 m) in depth. This allows this species to tolerate many conditions and is hard to get rid of even with the help of herbicides.[5]

Taxonomy

Latin "arvum", meaning "ploughed", referencing the growth of the plant in arable soil or disturbed areas. The common name "common horsetail" references the appearance of the plant that when bunched together appears similar to a horse's tail.[7]

Many species of horsetail have been described and subsequently synonymized with E. arvense. One of these is E. calderi, a small form described from Arctic North America.[8]

Names

Some other common names include "horse pipes", "bottle-brush", "snake-grass", "devil's-guts", "horsetail fern", "pine-grass", "meadow-pine", and "foxtail-rush".[9] It is also known as "marestail", primarily in the UK,[10] but this common name is also used for the flowering aquatic plant Hippuris vulgaris and the common North American weed Erigeron canadensis.[11][12] The Finnish name of the plant peltokorte, literally meaning "field horsetail" refers to the latin name of the plant.

Description

Equisetum arvense creeps extensively with its slender and felted

succulent texture, 10–25 cm (3.9–9.8 in) tall and 3–5 mm (0.12–0.20 in) diameter, with 4–8 whorls of brown scale leaves and an apical brown spore cone. The cone is 10–40 mm (0.39–1.57 in) long and 4–9 mm (0.16–0.35 in) broad.[2] The fertile stems are typically precocious and appear in early spring.[13] It has changed little from its ancestors of the Carboniferous
period.

The plant is difficult to control due to its extensive rhizomes and deeply buried tubers. Fire, mowing, or slashing is ineffective at removing the plant as new stems quickly grow from the rhizomes. Some herbicides remove aerial growth but regrowth quickly occurs albeit with a reduction in frond density.[7]

E. arvense is a nonflowering plant, multiplying through spores. It absorbs silicon from the soil, which is rare among herbs.[

diploid number of 216 (108 pairs of chromosomes).[2]

Habitat and distribution

Equisetum arvense grows in a wide range of conditions, in temperatures less than 5 °C (41 °F) to greater than 20 °C (68 °F) and in areas that receive annual rainfall as low as 100 mm (3.9 in) and as great as 2,000 mm (79 in). It commonly occurs in damp and open woodlands, pastures, arable lands, roadsides, disturbed areas, and near the edge of streams. It prefers neutral or slightly basic clay loams that are sandy or silty, especially where the water table is high, though it can occur occasionally on slightly acid soils.[7]

The plant is widespread in the

southern hemisphere, but it occurs in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Madagascar, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand.[7]

Uses

microphylls
. The stem has many strong lengthwise ridges.

Medicine

The plant contains several substances that can be used medicinally. It is rich in silicon (10%), potassium, calcium, manganese, magnesium and phosphorus, phytosterols, dietary fiber, vitamins A, E and C, tannins, alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids, glycosides and caffeic acid phenolic ester. The buds are eaten as a vegetable in Japan and Korea in spring. All other Equisetum species are toxic.[citation needed] In polluted conditions[citation needed], it may synthesize nicotine.[14]

Recent research has shown limited evidence of anti-inflammatory, diuretic, antimicrobial, and antioxidant properties. [15]

Craft production

It was also once used to polish

fingernails. It is also an abrasive. It was used by hurdy-gurdy players to dress the wheels of their instruments by removing resin build up.[16]

Horticultural and agricultural

In horticulture and agriculture, an aqueous extract of E. arvense has been approved for use as a fungicide in the European Union and the United Kingdom (since Brexit).[17] Horsetail extract can be used to fungal pathogens on crops including:[18]

Equisetum is used in biodynamic farming (preparation BD 508) in particular to reduce the effects of excessive water around plants (such as fungal growth). The high silica content of the plant reduces the impact of moisture.[19]

Traditional medicine

E. arvense has been used in traditional Austrian herbal medicine internally as tea, or externally as baths or compresses, for treatment of disorders of the skin, locomotor system, kidneys and urinary tract, rheumatism and gout.[citation needed]

Externally it was traditionally used for

chilblains and wounds.[20]

In Finnish traditional medicine, E. arvense has been especially valued for its high concentration of silicic acid and has been seen to help and been used in a number of ways:

  • Green summer shoots, dried, as a remedy.
  • Seen to prevent inflammation. strengthening skin ja immune system.
  • A decoction of E. arvense has been used internally to treat all kinds of lung diseases and externally to treat rashes and hard-to-treat wounds.[21]

Harmful effects

Equisetum arvense is toxic to stock, particularly horses.[22]

It was introduced into

Ella Orr Campbell in 1949.[23] It is listed on the National Pest Plant Accord, prohibiting its sale, spread and cultivation.[24]

Gallery

  • Equisetum arvense in Iceland
    Equisetum arvense in Iceland
  • Fertile shoots, in late April
    Fertile shoots, in late April
  • A sterile stem of Equisetum arvense, showing its leaves, stems and internodes
    A sterile stem of Equisetum arvense, showing its leaves, stems and internodes

References

  1. ^ "Name – Equisetum arvense L." Tropicos. Missouri Botanical Garden. 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  2. ^
    ISBN 0-7200-0210-9
    .
  3. ^ Flora of North America: Equisetum arvense
  4. doi:10.7677/ynzwyj201414036 (inactive 31 January 2024).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of January 2024 (link
    )
  5. ^ "Equisetum arvense horsetail". oregonstate.edu. Archived from the original on 14 November 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  6. ^ Linnaeus, C. (1753). Species Plantarum. Vol. II (1st ed.). Stockholm: Laurentii Salvii. p. 1061.
  7. ^
    ISBN 9780643065147.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
  8. JSTOR 1545251
    .
  9. ^ "field horsetail Equisetum arvense Weed Profile". Weed Identification - Virginia Cooperative Extension. College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Virginia Tech. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  10. ^ "Field horsetail". BBC Gardeners World Magazine. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  11. ISBN 978-0-486-22810-5
    . Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  12. ^ Smith-Fiola, Deborah; Gill, Stanton (2021). "Marestail: Identification and Management in Nursery and Landscape Settings". University of Maryland Extension. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  13. ISBN 0-442-22250-5
    .
  14. ^ Bebbington, A. "Toxicity of Equisetum to Horses". Retrieved 1 December 2010.
  15. ISBN 978-3-031-07752-4
    . Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  16. ^ La Vielleuse Habile, Jean-Francois Bouin, 1761, p. 19.
  17. ^ "Low-risk active substances and basic substances". www.hse.gov.uk. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  18. ^ European Commission. "Review report for the basic substance Equisetum arvense L. Finalised in the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health at its meeting on 20 March 2014 in view of the approval of Equisetum arvense L. as basic substance in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 July 2022.
  19. ^ Kearny, Peter. "Bio Dynamic Prep 508". Bio Dynamic Prep 208. City Food Growers. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  20. ^ Howard, Michael. Traditional Folk Remedies (Century, 1987); pp. 159–160
  21. ISBN 951-0-23001-4
    .
  22. ^ "Equisetum arvense". Poisonous Plants of Pennsylvania. Archived from the original on 3 March 2018. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  23. ^ Clemens, J (2003). "In Memory of Ella O. Campbell, DNZM, FRIH" (PDF). Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture. 6 (1): 2. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  24. ISBN 978-0-478-14413-0. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on 30 May 2009. Retrieved 6 May 2009.

External links

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