CHAPTER XII 

 THE HORSETAILS 



IT is now necessary to consider a very strik- 

 ing order of plants. Unlike the Club Mosses, 

 it is probable that most people are familiar with 

 one or more species of Horsetail ; some of these 

 plants are not only common, but they are also 

 very striking in appearance. In all there are 

 eight species of Equisetum which are natives 

 of the United Kingdom, and most of these are 

 fairly easy to identify if a few leading features 

 are borne in mind. 



Equisetum arvense. The generic name in 

 this case is composed of two Latin words equus, 

 " a horse," and seta, " a bristle." Thus we see 

 that the popular name of the plant is an almost 

 exact translation of the scientific one. The 

 specific name is derived from the Latin adjective 

 drvus, " a field," and has, of course, reference 

 to the fact that the plant grows in pastures. 

 The Field Horsetail. 



This species is by far the commonest of all the 

 Horsetails, and is very frequently to be found 

 on embankments in fields and by the sides of 

 roads. The plant, which dies down in the 

 winter, starts its growth quite early in the year 

 with the development of the fertile stems. 

 These rise straight up from the branching 

 root-stock, and are generally about five or six 



