Equisetum hyemale — tall scouring-rush
![Leaves and nodes: Equisetum hyemale. ~ By Arthur Haines. ~ Copyright © 2024 Arthur Haines. ~ arthur.d.haines[at]gmail.com](https://newfs.s3.amazonaws.com/taxon-images-1000s1000/Equisetaceae/equisetum-hyemale-ln-ahaines-b.jpg)
![Spore cones: Equisetum hyemale. ~ By Frank Bramley. ~ Copyright © 2024 New England Wild Flower Society. ~ Image Request, images[at]newenglandwild.org](https://newfs.s3.amazonaws.com/taxon-images-1000s1000/Equisetaceae/equisetum-hyemale-sc-fbramley-b.jpg)
![Plant form: Equisetum hyemale. ~ By Douglas McGrady. ~ Copyright © 2024 Douglas McGrady. ~ demcgrady[at]hotmail.com](https://newfs.s3.amazonaws.com/taxon-images-1000s1000/Equisetaceae/equisetum-hyemale-ha-dmcgrady.jpg)
![Plant form: Equisetum hyemale. ~ By Frank Bramley. ~ Copyright © 2024 New England Wild Flower Society. ~ Image Request, images[at]newenglandwild.org](https://newfs.s3.amazonaws.com/taxon-images-1000s1000/Equisetaceae/equisetum-hyemale-ha-fbramley-a.jpg)
![Spore cones: Equisetum hyemale. ~ By Arthur Haines. ~ Copyright © 2024 Arthur Haines. ~ arthur.d.haines[at]gmail.com](https://newfs.s3.amazonaws.com/taxon-images-1000s1000/Equisetaceae/equisetum-hyemale-sc-ahaines-c.jpg)
![Plant form: Equisetum hyemale. ~ By Arthur Haines. ~ Copyright © 2024 Arthur Haines. ~ arthur.d.haines[at]gmail.com](https://newfs.s3.amazonaws.com/taxon-images-1000s1000/Equisetaceae/equisetum-hyemale-ha-ahaines-a.jpg)
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Facts
Tall scouring rush is so called because its high silica content made it useful, in the past, for polishing or scouring metal, pewter, and wood. Dried pieces of common scouring rush are still used by woodwind players to scrape and shape reeds.
Habitat
Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), shores of rivers or lakes
New England distribution
Adapted from BONAP data
Native: indigenous.
Non-native: introduced (intentionally or unintentionally); has become naturalized.
County documented: documented to exist in the county by evidence (herbarium specimen, photograph). Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
State documented: documented to exist in the state, but not documented to a county within the state. Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
Note: when native and non-native populations both exist in a county, only native status is shown on the map.
Found this plant? Take a photo and post a sighting.
enlargeCharacteristics
- Habitat
- terrestrial
- New England state
-
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Stem form
- the stem is relatively straight
- Branches
- there are no branches off the main stem
- Cone tip shape
- the tip of the spore cone has a small, sharp point
- Sheathes on older stems
- the leaf sheathes fall off in older stems
- Sheath color
- the leaf sheath is mainly black
- Stem cross-section
- more than half the stem diameter is occupied by the hollow central cavity
- Number of stem ridges
- 14–50
- Stem color
- the aerial stem color is green
- Sheath border color
- the border of the leaf sheath is dark, or with a narrow white edge
- Length of branch section
- NA
-
Leaves
- Leaves per node
- 14–50
- Sheath border color
- the border of the leaf sheath is dark, or with a narrow white edge
- Sheath color
- the leaf sheath is mainly black
- Sheathes on older stems
- the leaf sheathes fall off in older stems
-
Place
- Habitat
- terrestrial
- New England state
-
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Specific habitat
-
- man-made or disturbed habitats
- shores of rivers or lakes
-
Spores or spore cones
- Cone length
- 10–20 mm
- Cone tip shape
- the tip of the spore cone has a small, sharp point
- Spore form
- the spores are green and spherical
-
Stem, shoot, branch
- Branch grooves
- NA
- Branches
- there are no branches off the main stem
- How hollow is stem
- At least 50
- Length of branch section
- NA
- Number of stem ridges
- 14–50
- Plant height
- 180–2200 mm
- Stem cavities
- 22
- Stem color
- the aerial stem color is green
- Stem cross-section
- more than half the stem diameter is occupied by the hollow central cavity
- Stem differences
- the vegetative and reproductive stems are similar in appearance
- Stem form
- the stem is relatively straight
- Stem texture
- the stem feels fairly to very rough
- Stem thickness
- 2.5–17.5 mm
Wetland status
Occurs in wetlands or non-wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: FAC)
In New England
Distribution
- Connecticut
- present
- Maine
- present
- Massachusetts
- present
- New Hampshire
- present
- Rhode Island
- present
- Vermont
- present
Conservation status
Exact status definitions can vary from state to state. For details, please check with your state.
- Massachusetts
- unranked (S-rank: SNR)
ssp. affine
- Rhode Island
- rare (S-rank: S2), concern (code: C)
var. affine
- Massachusetts
- unranked (S-rank: SNR)
Subspecies and varieties
Our subspecies is Equisetum hyemale L. ssp. affine (Engelm.) Calder & Taylor.
From Flora Novae Angliae dichotomous key
3. Equisetum hyemale L. ssp. affine (Engelm.) Calder & Taylor N
tall scouring-rush. Equisetum hyemale L. var. robustum (A. Braun) A.A. Eat.; Hippochaete hyemalis (L.) Bruhin ssp. affinis (Engelm.) Holub • CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT; throughout. Sandy slopes and roadsides, riverbanks, and borrow pits.
3×8. Equisetum hyemale × Equisetum variegatum → Equisetum ×mackaii (Newman) Brichan is an infrequent scouring-rush hybrid known from CT, MA, NH, VT. It is found in many locations where the parental taxa are sympatric. It has 7–16 leaves at each node that are persistent or some deciduous, with dark centers and thin white margins (the white margins broad and prominent in E. variegatum). The sheaths have an apical black band or are ± black throughout, only rarely developing an ash-gray medial band (as in E. hyemale).
3×E. laevigatum A. Braun. Equisteum ×ferrissii Clute is a very rare scouring-rush hybrid known from CT, MA. It is much over-reported in the region, and most collections are merely variants of E. hyemale. Like other New England members of the former subgenus Hippochaete (species 3, 6, and 8), it has an apiculate strobilus apex. The leaves number 14–32 at each node. The sheaths often flare upward and have only a thin apical black band below the articulation point of the teeth, rarely developing also a brown basal band (rather than with apical and basal black bands separated by a medial ash-gray band in E. hyemale). The stem internodes of this hybrid have low, blunt scabrules on the ridges (rather than conspicuous, sharp scabrules as in E. hyemale).
3×E. laevigatum. Equisetum hyemale × Equisetum laevigatum → Equisetum ×ferrissii Clute is a very rare scouring-rush hybrid known from CT, MA, It is much over-reported in the region, and most collections are merely variants of E. hyemale. Like other New England members of the former subgenus Hippochaete (species 3, 6, and 8), it has an apiculate strobilus apex. The leaves number 14–32 at each node. The sheaths often flare upward and have only a thin apical black band below the articulation point of the teeth, rarely developing also a brown basal band (rather than with apical and basal black bands separated by a medial ash-gray band in E. hyemale). The stem internodes of this hybrid have low, blunt scabrules on the ridges (rather than conspicuous, sharp scabrules as in E. hyemale).
Native to North America?
Yes
Sometimes confused with
- Equisetum variegatum:
- stems with 3-12 ridges and persistent leaves (vs. E. hyemale, with stems with 14-50 ridges and deciduous leaves from all but upper nodes).
Synonyms
- Equisetum hyemale L. var. robustum (A. Braun) A.A. Eat.
- Hippochaete hyemalis (L.) Bruhin ssp. affinis (Engelm.) Holub