Weed Information: Equisetum hyemale (scouringrush)
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Equisetum hyemale (scouringrush)

Family: Equisetaceae

Description

The common name is derived from the fact that this evergreen species has been used to scour pots and pans. It is so sandpaper-like that it has also been used to strip paint and refinish furniture. Commonly forming very dense patches on roadsides and waste areas, but not found in annual crop ground. This plant takes up minerals from the soil, including measurable amounts of gold. Sold in the homeopathic trade as `shave grass` tea. The picture on page 308 of Weeds of the West (1991 edition) is really Equisetum laevigatum as on page 4 of Weeds and Poisonous Plants of Wyoming.

Characteristics

Inflorescence Type (How the flowers are arranged on the plant)
  • Head
Number of Petals
  • 0 (no petals)
Number of Sepals
  • sepals lacking
Number of Styles
  • Styles lacking (male flowers only)
Number of Stamens
  • stamens lacking (female flowers only)

Number of Carpels
  • 0 (male flowers only or plants producing spores)
Fruit Length at Maturity
  • 1 mm (.04 inch) or less
Fruit Width at Maturity
  • 1 mm (.04 inch) or less
Burs
  • Fruit or seed NOT bur-like
Fruit Type
  • Spore

Leaf Arrangement
  • Whorled > 8 per node
Leaf Type
  • Simple (including lobed leaves)
Stipules
  • Lacking
Tendrils
  • Tendrils absent
Venation
  • Parallel
Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio
  • Petiole absent (leaf sessile)
Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)
  • < 5 mm (< .20 inch)
Leaf Width
  • < 1 mm (< .04 inch)
Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)
  • Lanceolate
  • Linear or filiform
Leaf or Leaflet Margin
  • Entire
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base
  • Truncate
Leaf or Leaflet Tip
  • Acuminate (attenuate)
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface
  • Glabrous (NO hairs)
Succulence
  • Not succulent

Milky Juice
  • Juice NOT milky (watery)
Woodiness
  • Herbaceous
Spines or Thorns
  • Spines or Thorns ABSENT
Aromatic (vegetative structures)
  • Not aromatic
Life Cycle
  • Perennial
Growth Habit (while flowering)
  • Erect, columnar (narrow)
Plant Height at Maturity
  • 2 - 4 dm (8.0 - 16.0 inches)
  • 4 - 6 dm (1.3 - 2.0 feet)
  • 6 - 8 dm (2.0 - 2.6 feet)
  • 8 - 10 dm (2.6 - 3.3 feet)
Wind Dissemination
  • Fruit, seed, or spore wind borne
Moisture Regime
  • Semi-aquatic
  • Seasonally saturated
  • Mesic
Chlorophyll
  • Present

Stem Cross Section
  • Hollow (flowering stem at maturity)
  • Ridged
  • Round
Flowering Stem Leaves
  • Stem leafless
  • Stem leaves greatly reduced
Main Stem Branches
  • Main stem unbranched

Root or Vegetative Propagule
  • Fibrous
  • Rhizomatous

US State
  • Alabama
  • Arkansas
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Illinois
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Massachusetts
  • Maine
  • Michigan
  • Missouri
  • Mississippi
  • North Carolina
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • Ohio
  • Pennsylvania
  • South Carolina
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Virginia
  • Wisconsin
  • West Virginia
  • Indiana
  • Maryland
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont
  • Alaska
  • Arizona
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Iowa
  • Idaho
  • Minnesota
  • Montana
  • North Dakota
  • New Mexico
  • Nevada
  • Oklahoma
  • Oregon
  • South Dakota
  • Utah
  • Washington
  • Wyoming
  • Nebraska
Canadian Province or Territory
  • British Columbia
  • New Brunswick
  • Nova Scotia
  • Ontario
  • Quebec
  • Alberta
  • Manitoba
  • Newfoundland
  • Saskatchewan
  • Yukon
  • Nunavut
  • Northwest Territory
Other
  • District of Columbia
  • Labrador
  • Greenland

  • Aquatic and Riparian Plants of the West, 2003 (ISBN# 1-879906-59-7) See page: 202
  • Gilkey`s Weeds of the Pacific Northwest, 1980 (ISBN 0-88246-039-0) See page: 22
  • Nebraska Weeds, 1979 Nebraska Dept. of Ag., Lincoln NE, See page: 5
  • S.W.S.S. Weed ID Guide, 1993 Section Number and Five letter code: 1 EQUHY
  • Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 106, 107
  • Weeds of California, 1970, State of California Publications and Documents. See page: 35
  • Weeds of California and other Western States, 2007 (ISBN 13: 978-1-879906-69-3) See Page: 693
  • Weeds of Eastern Washington and Adjacent Areas, 1972 (LOC 72-83635) See page: 22
  • Weeds of Nebraska and the Great Plains, 1994 (ISBN 0939870-00-4) See page: 287
  • Weeds of the Midwestern United States & Central Canada, University of Georgia 2010, ISBN#0-8203-3506-1 See page: 24
  • Weeds of the Northeast, 1997 Cornell University ISBN# 0-8014-8334-4 See page: 22
  • Weeds of the South, University of Georgia 2009, ISBN#0-8203-3046-9 See page: 24
  • Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 X
  • Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X
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