34 



THE SCOURING-RUSHES. 



j\Ir. A. A. Eaton has therefore proposed the name of 

 Equisetum Funstoni, in honour of General B'unston, who 

 in early life made several botanical expeditions into 

 little-known regions, upon one of which he collected this 

 species. 



The branched scouring-rush is most like Equisetum 

 IcEvigatuvi, but may be distinguished from it by its 

 rougher stems and by the shape and make-up of the 

 sheaths. In both species the sheaths are coloured 

 like the stems, and both are dilated upward, but 

 in Equisetum Funstoni the margin of the sheath, 

 after the tips have fallen, turns inward, while in 

 Equisetum leevigatum it does not. The leaves 

 composing the sheaths of Equisetum Funstoni are 

 somewhat separated at the apex. The stems of 

 Equisetum IcBvigatum are also supposed to be 

 annual, while those of Equisetum Funstoni last 

 through the winter. This difference, however, 

 may be accounted for by the warmer climate of 

 the region inhabited by the latter. Both species 

 Sheath of ^""^ alike in having catkins lacking the apical 

 ^Funsunt. poiut, though, curiously enough, they belong to 

 a section in which the possession of such a 

 point is one of the distinguishing features. It has been 

 suggested that Equisetum Funstoni is but a form of the 

 better-known Equisetum Icevigatum. Whether this is 

 true or not will necessitate further study of both plants 

 in the field. Should it be proved to be a form of Equi- 

 setum Icevigatum, it would be known as Equisetum 

 IcBvigatum Funstoni, since the other was first named. 



The new stems of the branched scouring-rush make 

 their appearance early in the year, and by the middle of 

 March are in fruit. At maturity they may reach a 



