L., Equisetaceae |
Present on Pacific Islands? yes
Primarily a threat at high elevations? no
Risk assessment results: High risk; score: 18 (Hawaii-Pacific Weed Risk Assessment for Equisetum arvense)
Other Latin names: Equisetum boreale Bong.; Equisetum calderi B. Boivin; Equisetum saxicola Suksd.
Common name(s): [more details]
English: common horsetail, field horsetail, horsetail |
Habit: herb
Description: "Horsetails are primitive plants without flowers or obvious leaves. Horsetails have two types of stem. The sterile stems are hollow and jointed, and some resemble giant sheoak shoots. The fertile stems produce spore-bearing cones at their tip." (Western Australian Government)
"A perennial plant, it [Equisetum arvense] grows to a height of 0.45 m with a spread of 0.5 m. ¶The rootstock is creeping, jointed and string-like; the stems are numerous and hollow--the fertile stems are flesh coloured and bear a terminal, cone-like spike, containing spores, and the sterile stems have whorls of small branchlets." (Encyclopaedia Botanica, p. 386)
"Aerial stems dimorphic; vegetative stems green, branched, 2-60(-100) cm; hollow center 1/3-2/3 stem diam. Sheaths squarish in face view, 2-5(-10) &mult; 2-5(-9) mm; teeth dark, 4-14, narrow, 1-3.5 mm, often cohering in pairs. Branches in regular whorls, ascending, solid; ridges 3-4; valleys channeled; 1st internode of each branch longer than subtending stem sheath; sheath teeth attenuate. Fertile stems brown, lacking stomates, unbranched, shorter than vegetative stems, with larger sheaths, fleshy, ephemeral. 2 n =ca. 216. . . . Cones maturing in early spring." (JSTOR Global Plants
Equisetum (genus): "Terrestrial, mostly in in wet places; rhiz subterranean, long-creeping; aerial stems erect, ribbed, jointed, internodes usu hollow. Lvs small, scalelike, whorled and fused to each other to form sheath at nodes. Cones (strobili) terminal on stem, composed of numerous peltate sporophylls; sporangia 5-10, on underside of sporophylls. Spores green, with 4 strap-shaped appendages." (a tropical garden flora, p. 38)
Habitat/ecology: ". . .it [Equisetum arvense] prefers swampy, clayey soils, prefereably moist loams, in a protected position, and is frost resistant but drought tender." (Encyclopaedia Botanica, p. 386)
"The species grows in anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), fens (calcium-rich wetlands), forest edges, meadows and fields, shores of rivers or lakes, swamps and wetland margins (New England Wild Flower Society 2011-2015)" in both terrestrial and freshwater systems. (IUCN Red List)
Propagation: "Propagation is by spore or by division." (Encyclopaedia Botanica, p. 386)
"Spreads primarily by rhizomes and root pieces, but also reproduces by spores." (Western Australian Government)
Native range: "Indigenous to the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. . . ." (Encyclopaedia Botanica, p. 386)
"The species is distributed throughout the temperate northern hemisphere, including nearly all of North America, Greenland, Eurasia, south to the Himalayas, central China, Korea and Japan (NatureServe 2014; Flora of North America Editorial Committee 1993+). . . . ¶Native: Åland Islands; Albania; Andorra; Austria; Belarus; Belgium; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Bulgaria; Canada (Alberta, British Columbia, Labrador, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland I, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario, Prince Edward I., Québec, Saskatchewan, Yukon); China; Croatia; Czech Republic; Denmark; Estonia; Faroe Islands; Finland; France; Germany; Greece; Greenland; Guernsey; Hungary; Iceland; Ireland; Isle of Man; Italy; Japan; Jersey; Korea, Democratic People's Republic of; Latvia; Liechtenstein; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of; Malta; Moldova; Monaco; Montenegro; Netherlands; Norway; Poland; Portugal (Azores - Introduced, Portugal (mainland)); Romania; Russian Federation; San Marino; Serbia; Slovakia; Slovenia; Spain (Baleares, Spain (mainland)); Svalbard and Jan Mayen; Sweden; Switzerland; Ukraine; United Kingdom; United States (Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaiian Is. - Introduced, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington)" (IUCN Red List)
Impacts and invaded habitats: In Australia: "Horsetails are highly invasive, difficult to control and toxic to livestock. They can be allelopathic." (Western Australian Government)
"Sometimes cultivated and extremely difficult to eradicate, especially in rocky soils. Grows mainly in damp places. Outbreaks have been controlled following spread from plantings in New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia." (Western Australian Government)
If you know of other invaded habitats or impacts, please let us know.
Presence:
Pacific | |||
Country/Terr./St. & Island group |
Location |
Cited status &
Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction? |
Reference &
Comments |
State of Hawaii
Hawaiian Islands |
Oahu Island | Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018) |
Pacific Rim | |||
Country/Terr./St. & Island group |
Location |
Cited status &
Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction? |
Reference &
Comments |
Asia
Asia |
Himalayas |
Maiz-Tome, L. (2016)
accessed 20180503 |
|
Asia
Asia |
Iran | Randall, R. P. (2017) (p. 1393) | |
Asia
Asia |
Mongolia | Randall, R. P. (2017) (p. 1393) | |
Asia
Asia |
Nepal | Randall, R. P. (2017) (p. 1393) | |
Asia
Asia |
Russia | Randall, R. P. (2017) (p. 1393) | |
Asia
Asia |
Tajikstan | Randall, R. P. (2017) (p. 1393) | |
Asia
Asia |
Ukraine |
native
|
Maiz-Tome, L. (2016)
accessed 20180503 |
Asia
Asia (Pacific rim) |
Korea |
native
|
Maiz-Tome, L. (2016)
accessed 20180503 |
Australia
Australia |
Western Australia (Australia) (state) |
introduced
invasive cultivated |
Western Australian Government (year unknown)
accessed 20190214 |
British Columbia (province of Canada)
Province of British Columbia |
Canada (British Columbia) |
native
|
Maiz-Tome, L. (2016)
accessed 20180503 |
China
China |
China (People's Republic of) |
native
|
Maiz-Tome, L. (2016)
accessed 20180503 |
Japan
Japan |
Japan |
native
|
Maiz-Tome, L. (2016)
accessed 20180503 |
Japan
Japan |
Shikoku (island) | Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018) | |
North Korea
North Korea |
North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of) | Randall, R. P. (2017) (p. 1393) | |
New Zealand
New Zealand |
South Island | Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018) | |
Russia
Russia |
Russian Federation |
native
|
Maiz-Tome, L. (2016)
accessed 20180503 |
United States (west coast)
United States (west coast states) |
USA (Oregon) |
introduced
|
Maiz-Tome, L. (2016)
accessed 20180503 |
United States (west coast)
United States (west coast states) |
USA (California) |
native
|
Maiz-Tome, L. (2016)
accessed 20180503 |
United States (west coast)
United States (west coast states) |
USA (Washington) | Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018) |
Indian Ocean | |||
Country/Terr./St. & Island group |
Location |
Cited status &
Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction? |
Reference &
Comments |
Mauritius
Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues) |
Mauritius Island | Randall, R. P. (2017) (p. 1393) |
Also reported from | |||
Country/Terr./St. & Island group |
Location |
Cited status &
Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction? |
Reference &
Comments |
Africa
Africa |
Azores | Randall, R. P. (2017) (p. 1393) | |
Africa
Africa |
Madagascar | Randall, R. P. (2017) (p. 1393) | |
Canada
Canada |
Canada |
native
|
Maiz-Tome, L. (2016)
accessed 20180503 |
Canada
Canada |
Canada | Randall, R. P. (2017) (p. 1393) | |
Canada
Canada |
Canada | Randall, R. P. (2017) (p. 1394) | |
Eurasia
Eurasia |
Eurasia |
Maiz-Tome, L. (2016)
accessed 20180503 |
|
Europe
Europe |
Czechoslovakia | Randall, R. P. (2017) (p. 1393) | |
Europe
Europe |
Europe |
native
|
Maiz-Tome, L. (2016)
accessed 20180503 (see ref for details) |
Europe
Europe |
Europe (central) | Randall, R. P. (2017) (p. 1393) | |
Europe
Europe |
Europe (northern) | Randall, R. P. (2017) (p. 1393) | |
Europe
Europe |
Germany | Randall, R. P. (2017) (p. 1393) | |
Europe
Europe |
Kosovo | Randall, R. P. (2017) (p. 1393) | |
Europe
Europe |
Montenegro | Randall, R. P. (2017) (p. 1393) | |
Europe
Europe |
Netherlands | Randall, R. P. (2017) (p. 1393) | |
Europe
Europe |
Norway | Randall, R. P. (2017) (p. 1393) | |
Europe
Europe |
Poland | Randall, R. P. (2017) (p. 1393) | |
Europe
Europe |
Romania | Randall, R. P. (2017) (p. 1393) | |
Europe
Europe |
Slovakia | Randall, R. P. (2017) (p. 1393) | |
Europe
Europe |
Sweden | Randall, R. P. (2017) (p. 1393) | |
Europe
Europe |
Yugoslavia | Randall, R. P. (2017) (p. 1393) | |
Iceland
Iceland |
Iceland | Randall, R. P. (2017) (p. 1393) | |
North America
North America |
Alaska (US) (state) | Randall, R. P. (2017) (p. 1393) | |
North America
North America |
North America |
native
|
Maiz-Tome, L. (2016)
accessed 20180503 (see ref for details) |
South America
South America |
Argentina | Randall, R. P. (2017) (p. 1393) | |
United States (continental except west coast)
United States (other states) |
United States (other states) |
native
|
Maiz-Tome, L. (2016)
accessed 20180503 |
Control: "Invasive in wet places, species in this genus are extremely hard to control once they are established, being resistant to most herbicides." (NZ National Pest Plant Accord 2012, p. 58)
When using any agricultural chemicals please ensure that you always follow instructions on the label and any permit. Users of agricultural chemical products must always strictly comply with the directions on the label and the conditions of any permit. ... Chemical control options: Chemical control options can be found below. For other methods of control please refer to the aquatic weed control page, and the declared plant control handbook. Recommended herbicides: Dichlobenil. Herbicide: Casoron G (Group K). Active ingredient: 67.5g/kg dichlobenil. Rate of product: 370g/10m2. Time of application: Preferably when plants are dormant--usually in colder months. Wetting agent: N/A. Remarks: This a spot treatment only. ... Spread the granules evenly over the surface. A good method to aid the even distribution is to mix the granules in dry sand and then sprinkle over the area to be treated. Water treated area immediately application of the granules. Repeated applications will be necessary. Other control measures: Excavation and removal of soil and plant material, but this can be expensive and involves the risk of spreading the plant fragments. (Western Australian Government [text reformatted by PIER])