E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Equisetum pratense Ehrh.
meadow horsetail
Equisetaceae (Horsetail family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Distribution of Equisetum pratense
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Species Information

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Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

General:
Perennial from a smooth, blackish rhizome.

Stems:
10-60 cm tall, 1-2 mm thick, their central cavity 1/2 the stem diameter, regularly and abundantly branched, the sheaths with 10-20 narrow teeth, the teeth dark with white margins; branches in regular whorls, triangular in cross-section, the 1st internodes of each branch shorter than the corresponding sheaths.

Cones:
1-4 cm long, rounded at the tip.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Mesic to wet forests, riverbanks, meadows, bog margins, from the montane to subalpine zones; frequent in BC east of the Coast-Cascade Mountains, infrequent in SC BC; N to AK, YT and NT, E to MI and S to NJ, MI, IA, SD, MT and WA; Eurasia.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Equisetum pratense

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information	Value / Class
Site Information	Minimum	Average	Maximum
Elevation (metres)	0	907	2300
Slope Gradient (%)	0	7	205
Aspect (degrees) [0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]	0	32	360
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric]	1	5	8
Modal Nutrient Regime Class	D
Number of field plots species was recorded in:	1112
Modal BEC Zone Class	SBS
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in:	BAFA(3), BWBS(263), CWH(40), ESSF(112), ICH(202), IDF(31), MH(1), MS(85), PP(5), SBPS(14), SBS(271), SWB(20)
Source: Klinkenberg 2020

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Status Information

Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Native	S5	Yellow	Not Listed

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer, the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Flora North America treatment for Equisetaceae
Flora North America treatment for Equisetum pratense
Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
International Plant Names Index
Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Range and Status Information Links

Burke Museum of Natural History (Washington State records)
CalFlora
Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria records
Jepson Interchange
NatureServe Explorer
USDA

Additional Photo Sources

Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
Google Image Search
Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
General Botanical References for BC

Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2024-05-17 2:48:05 AM ]

Disclaimer: The information contained in the E-Flora atlas pages is derived from expert sources as cited in each section. This information is scientifically based. E-Flora also acts as a portal to other sites via deep links. As always, users should refer to the original sources for complete information. E-Flora BC is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of the original information.