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Giant Horsetail
Equisetum telmatica
49.2575, -122.848
Field Notes
Description:
Stems of 2 types, sterile and fertile. Reproduces by spores rather than seeds. Sterile stems are branched and hollow. The fertile stems have cones which contain the spores for reproduction. The slender green branches (mistaken for leaves by me!) and stems are photosynthetic. The leaves (do not look like leaves!) are in whorls at the conspicuous nodes and do not bear chlorophyll. More info available in Plants of Coastal BC by Pojar. Great book!
Habitat:
Large areas of this old farm that has been bought as a regional park in the Greater Vancouver Area are covered with this plant in the understorey and in some of the grass areas. Drainage is poor here and the Coquitlam river runs through this old farm so its preferred habitat of moist to wet places is quite widespread here. Seems to love it under the evergreens, cottonwoods, blackberries, etc.
Notes:
Cool plant! The equisetum is the only genus in its family. There are 20 species of it worldwide and there are 4 of these found in the area where I live! I need to seek them out and compare them.
The Coast Salish nation used the young spore-bearing and vegetative shoots as a spring vegetable.
Cool fact! Horsetails are a very ancient group of plants that grew to the size of trees.
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