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Overview

Equisetum sylvaticum, the wood horsetail, is a horsetail (family Equisetaceae) native to the Northern Hemisphere, occurring in North America and Eurasia. Due to its lacy appearance, it is considered among the most attractive of the horsetails. Equisetum sylvaticum is considered everything form a special concern to an endangered species just within the United States. The species can be found across the north eastern United States, south eastern portions of Alaska, sporadically through south western Canada, and all throughout Europe. Botanical description

This perennial horsetail has erect, hollow stems that grow from 30 to 60 cm in length and from 1–4 mm thick. The branches themselves are compound and delicate, occurring in whorls and drooping downward. There are generally 12 or more branches per whorl. Fertile stems are at first tan-to-brown and unbranched, but later become like the sterile stems, which are more highly branched and green. All the stems have 10-18 spiny vertical ridges that contain silica spicules. The leaves are scales fused into sheaths that cover the stems and branches. These spiny leaves are larger and looser on the fertile stems.

The fertile stems are shorter than the others; on these develop the cones that bear the spore casings. The leaves develop on the fertile stems and the stems lengthen; then the cones open to release their spores. The cones then drop off. This process takes a few weeks. All the stems may continue to grow until fall and generally die back over winter.

Habitat

These horsetails are commonly found in wet or swampy forest, open woodlands, and meadow areas. The species name sylvaticum is Latin for "of the forests", emphasizing that the wood horsetail is most commonly found in forested habitats. The plant is an indicator of boreal and cool-temperate climates, and very moist to wet, nitrogen-poor soils.

Reproduction

The Equisetum sylvaticum’s cones typically mature late in the spring. The cones release spores into the air and use wind dispersal as a small way of spreading or reproducing. However, this plant’s primary means of reproduction is done mostly by rhizomes. Rhizomes, or creeping rootstalks, are basically modified stems. They grow horizontally underground and allow the production of a new plant’s root and shoot system. These rhizome systems are deep and extensive, as well as extremely long-lived. These creeping rhizomes occasionally produce tubers, and often outweigh the above-ground growth by 100 to 1.

Taxonomy

The species Equisetum sylvaticum belongs to the family Equisetaceae and the order Equisetales. The family Equisetaceae is the only extant family remaining in the Equisetales order. Morphology makes identifying species within this order somewhat difficult. Many resort to using molecular markers to correctly identify those of Equisetaceae.

References
 * Borealforest.com entry for Wood Horsetail
 * The Wood Horsetail
 * iNaturalist
 * Flora of North America
 * Rhizomes
 * USDA
 * Identification of Common Horsetail
 * Phylogenetic Information