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

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

Introduction to Vascular Plants

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

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

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
Site Information	Avg	Min	Max
Elevation (metres)	1357	6	2351
Slope Gradient (%)	7	0	60
Aspect (degrees) [0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]	146	0	360
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric]	5	1	8
Modal Nutrient Regime Class	D
# 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)
Source: Klinkenberg 2013

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

Scientific Name	Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Equisetum variegatum ssp. alaskanum	Native	S5	Yellow	Not Listed
Equisetum variegatum ssp. variegatum	Native	S5	Yellow	Not Listed

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer.

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