Copy permalink to share

Equisetum praealtum Rafinesque. Common name: Tall Scouring-Rush, River Scouring-Rush. Phenology: May-Sep. Habitat: Riverbanks, alluvial floodplains. Distribution: Widespread in North America, and south to s. Mexico and El Salvador.

Origin/Endemic status: Native

Taxonomy Comments: As interpreted by Christenhusz et al. (2019), American material often treated as synonymous or varietally or subspecifically distinct from Eurasian E. hyemale warrants specific recognition, based on morphology and molecular phylogeny.

Synonymy ⓘ: = K4, POWO, Sf, Tat, Christenhusz et al (2019); = Equisetum hyemale L. ssp. affine (Engelm.) Calder & R.L.Taylor — AqW, Ar, Can, ETx1, FNA2, Il, Meso1, NE, NY, Tn, TxFerns, Va, Lin et al (2013); = Equisetum hyemale L. var. affine (Engelm.) A.A.Eaton — C, Fl1, GrPl, Md, Mo1, Pa, RAB, Tx, W, WH3; = Hippochaete hyemalis (L.) Bruhin ssp. affinis (Engelm.) W.A.Weber; < Equisetum hyemale L. — S13; < Equisetum hyemale L. var. affine (Engelm.) A.A.Eaton — NS; > Equisetum hyemale L. var. affine (Engelm.) A.A.Eaton — F, WV; > Equisetum hyemale L. var. elatum (Engelm.) Morton — G, WV; > Equisetum hyemale L. var. pseudohyemale (Farw.) Morton — G; > Equisetum hyemale L. var. robustum (A.Braun) A.A.Eaton — F. Basionym: Equisetum praealtum Raf. 1817

Links to other floras: = Equisetum hyemale ssp. affine - FNA2

Show in key(s)

Show parent genus | Show parent in key(s)

Wetland Indicator Status:

  • Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain: FACW (name change)
  • Eastern Mountains and Piedmont: FACW (name change)
  • Great Plains: FACW (name change)
  • Midwest: FACW (name change)
  • Northcentral & Northeast: FAC (name change)

Heliophily ⓘ: 5

Your browser does not support SVGs

Hover over a shape, letter, icon, or arrow on the map for definition or see the legend.

image of plant© Gary P. Fleming | Original Image ⭷
image of plant© Richard & Teresa Ware CC-BY-NC, permission granted to NCBG | Original Image ⭷
image of plant© Richard & Teresa Ware CC-BY-NC, permission granted to NCBG | Original Image ⭷
image of plant© Aidan Campos source | Original Image ⭷
image of plant© Alan Cressler: Equisetum hyemale, Morgan County, Alabama 1 by Alan Cressler source | Original Image ⭷
image of plant© Joey Shaw source | Original Image ⭷
image of plant© Alan Cressler: Equisetum hyemale subsp. affine, Spring Run, below Sinking Cove Cave, Sinking Cove, Franklin County, Tennessee 1 by Alan Cressler source | Original Image ⭷
image of plant© Erik Danielson source | Original Image ⭷
image of plant© Erik Danielson source | Original Image ⭷
image of plant© Erik Danielson source | Original Image ⭷
image of plant© Erik Danielson source | Original Image ⭷
image of plant© Alan Cressler: Equisetum hyemale, Calf Creek Canyon, Calf Creek Recreation Area, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Garfield County, Utah 1 by Alan Cressler source | Original Image ⭷

Feedback

See something missing or incorrect about Equisetum praealtum? Let us know here:

  1. Please include your name and if possible, email in case when need to clarify what you wrote.
  2. If you opt out of including email, please be as specific as possible (e.g., which photo is incorrect?)
  3. Please do not submit questions asking to identify plants or about horticultural topics (e.g., how do I control an invasive plant in my garden?). Instead, those questions can be submitted here for the Carolinas region only.
  4. Please do not send us feedback about unkeyed species as this work is ongoing.
  5. Please allow time for flora edits to show in our next data release. We greatly appreciate your feedback but may require extra time to research complicated taxonomic issues.

Horticultural Information

NCBG trait

Intro:

Stems:

Leaves:

Inforescence:

Flowers:

Fruits:

Comments:

Height: 2-5 ft.

plant sale text: Scouring rush (commonly called rough horsetail) is evergreen, the masses of its stems appearing very dark green in winter. It forms dense clonal colonies, and is often found in wet woods, moist hillsides and the sides of water bodies. Keep in mind that it is best to plant tall scouring-rush in a container as it has the tendency to spread to form large colonies in the wild. The rough bristles have a high silica content and were used to scour or clean pots, hence the common name of scouring rush. These unique plants are living relics from an age millions of years before the dinosaurs existed!

bloom table text:

description:

stems:

leaves:

inflorescence:

flowers:

fruits:

comments:

cultural notes:

germination code:

native range: throughout North America



0 unsaved edits on this page.