An ancient plant of the genus Equisetum, (the only extent genera of the family Equisetaceae, and only living member of the order Equisetales), Horsetails are some of the most primitive of fern species, being closely related to the Calamites of the Carboniferous era some three hundred million years ago.

Inspired by a fun workshop I got to host, along with such an amazing history of evolution though incredible cataclysmic epochs, chock full of climate upheaval, I really wanted to learn more about these amazing plants. Many of the Equisetum genera are now extinct yet there are about 9 species in my area, and of the species which persist in the area, I will be focusing mostly on Rough Horsetail.

I hope you enjoy the show.

To learn more :
Michigan Ferns & Lycophytes by Daniel D. Palmer. University of Michigan Press, 2018.
Ferns, Spikemosses, Clubmosses, and Quillworts of Eastern North America by Emily B. Sessa. Princeton University Press, 2024.
Peterson Field Guide to Ferns by Boughton Cobb. Houghton Mifflin, 1963.
The Flora of Wellington County by Richard Frank and Allan Anderson. Wellington Historical Society, 2009.
A Natural History of Ferns by Robbin C. Moran. Timber Press, 2004.