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

Equisetum variegatum Schleich. ex F. Weber & D. Mohr
northern scouring-rush (variegated scouringrush)
Equisetaceae (Horsetail family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

© Jamie Fenneman  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #20477)

 E-Flora BC Static Map
Distribution of Equisetum variegatum
Click here to view our interactive map and legend
Details about map content are available here
Click on the map dots to view record details.

Species Information

Click on the image below to view an expanded illustration for this species.
General:
Perennial evergreen from a branched, shiny, blackish rhizome.
Stems:
10-50 cm tall, 1-3 mm thick, their central cavity 1/4 the stem diameter, unbranched, the sheaths with 3-14 teeth.
Cones:
5-7 mm long, pointed at the tip.
Notes:
A hybrid with E. hyemale (E. x trachyodon A. Braun) was collected on the Queen Charlotte Islands (Calder & Taylor 1968). A hybrid with E. laevigatum (E. x nelsonii [A. A. Eaton] Schaffn.) has not been reported from BC, but can be expected.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Wet lake shores, streambanks, fens, meadows, clearings and roadsides from the lowland and steppe to subalpine and (rarely) alpine zones; frequent in coastal (ssp. alaskanum) and interior BC (ssp. variegatum); circumpolar, N to AK, E to NF and S to NH, CT, PA, MI, MN, WY, CO, UT, ID and OR; Eurasia.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Equisetum variegatum

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

Minimum

Average

Maximum
Elevation (metres) 6 1357 2351
Slope Gradient (%) 0 7 60
Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W] 		0 146 360
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:		 232
Modal BEC Zone Class
 ESSF
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in: AT(6), BAFA(14), BWBS(14), CWH(4), ESSF(77), ICH(13), IDF(3), IMA(1), MH(11), MS(14), PP(1), SBPS(9), SBS(27), SWB(8)

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.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

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

Additional Photo Sources

UBC Herbarium Scanned Collection Record
 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: 2024-05-13 5:50:51 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.
© E-Flora BC: An initiative of the Spatial Data Lab, Department of Geography UBC, and the UBC Herbarium.