H4 HOW TO KNOW THE FERNS 



feet, or even more, and have many whorls of 

 spreading branches which in their turn may 

 again be branched. It is these branches 

 which carry on the real vegetative work of the 

 plant. For the real leaves we must examine 

 the sheaths, which with their wedge-shaped 

 teeth are to be found at the stem joints. The 

 teeth are the only free portions of the leaves of 

 the Horsetails. It is interesting to note that 

 in each whorl the branches are equal to the 

 number of leaves and are alternate to them. 

 The stem of the barren branches of the Field 

 Horsetail is slightly marked with furrows, 

 which vary in number. The branches are 

 usually only four-furrowed, and have sheaths 

 with the same number of teeth. 



The whole of the barren portion of the Field 

 Horsetail is very rough to the touch. This is 

 due to the fact that the plant is covered with 

 tiny flinty particles. That the measure has a 

 protective value is very evident, for cattle have 

 hardly ever been known to eat the plant. 



Equisetum maximum. In this case the 

 specific name, of course, means great, and has 

 reference to the fact that the species is the 

 largest of all the kinds. In some old books 

 this species is given as E. Telmateia and E. 

 fluvialis. The Great Horsetail. 



This is by far the most striking of all our 

 native Horsetails. As a rule the plant grows in 

 a damp situation, and it then assumes handsome 

 proportions. The fertile stems appear on the 

 scene about April, and these do not as a rule 

 exceed a foot in height. They are very succu- 

 lent, and have loose sheaths which have about 

 thirty or forty teeth. The sheaths are green 

 at the lower, and brown at the upper part, 

 being distinctly marked with lines. The fertile 



