Flora of Northern Ireland
Equisetum fluviatile
© John Wilde
Equisetum fluviatile
(Map updated: March 2008)
 

This horsetail is very common in ponds, lakes, ditches, fens and other aquatic situations. It stands about one or two feet tall (sometimes more) and grows vertically up from a horizontal rhizome (creeping stem) which is buried in the mud below the water. It can be either completely unbranched, or have regular whorls of short branches. There is a large central hollow down the centre of the shoots. Blackish cones are produced at the tips of the shoots.

All names: Equisetum fluviatile L.; Equisetum limosum L.