Field Horsetail is a primitive, spore-bearing plant related to ancient tree-sized relatives that dominated 300-million-year-old forests. It spreads aggressively by underground rhizomes and produces two types of stems: fertile brown stems in spring and green vegetative stems in summer. The silica-encrusted stems were used historically as a scouring material.
Habitat
Roadsides, stream banks, moist disturbed soils across North America
Diet
Consumed by moose and deer; supports specialized insects
How common
Common
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