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Field Horsetail🌿
Equisetum arvense
スギナ（ツクシ）
A pteridophyte (fern ally) found in fields and along roadsides. In spring, the fertile stems (tsukushi/horsetail spore cones) emerge first, followed by the vegetative stems (sugina). A surviving member of the horsetail lineage that flourished in the Carboniferous Period. Spreads via rhizomes and is difficult to eradicate.
Identification Points
- ✓Fertile stems (tsukushi) with drumstick-like spore cones emerge in spring
- ✓Vegetative stems (sugina) resembling small pine trees appear later
- ✓Stems are jointed, with whorled branches at each node
- ✓Leaves are reduced to scale-like sheaths
Habitat
Fields, roadsides, riverbanks, grasslands
Season
March to April (fertile stems); April to October (vegetative stems)
3D Specimen Model
Kyushu University, Shikano Lab (CC0)
View on Sketchfab→Morphological TraitsAI-estimated, needs verification
Leaf arrangement
Whorled
Leaf type
Simple
Venation
Parallel
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf shape
Linear
Growth form
Herb
Flowering season
Spring
Habitat
Cultivated
Phylogenetic Positionトクサ科 →
Phylogenetic Position
Vascular plants > Ferns > Equisetales > Equisetaceae
Divergence Era
Paleozoic Devonian (approx. 400 million years ago onward)
Evolution Notes
Horsetails (Equisetopsida) flourished as tree-sized plants during the Carboniferous Period. The extant genus Equisetum is a living fossil among vascular plants.
View on evolution timeline →Sources & References
AI-generated, needs verification