Equisetum variegatum

Colorful horsetail ( Equisetum variegatum )

The Colorful horsetail ( Equisetum variegatum ) is a plant of the genus Equisetum ( Equisetum ). It is called Colorful horsetail, because the black leaf sheaths contrasting with white teeth against the green stems.

Features

The Colorful Horsetail is an evergreen Chamaephyt. The 2 to 3 mm thick, rough, upright shoots are branched at most at the base and reach a growth rate of 10 to 40 cm. The internodes are green and have 7-9 ribs. The leaf sheaths are bell - to funnel-shaped, somewhat spreading, the lower black, the upper green black with a broad transverse fascia. The vaginal teeth are upright, free, and do not fall off. The central cavity has a diameter of 1/4 to 1/3 of the stem diameter. The Sporangienähre is 5-7 mm long, ovate and pointed top. The Sporangientriebe bloom from April to August.

The chromosome number is 2n = 216

Distribution and location

The Colorful Horsetail is circumpolar distributed; it occurs in Eurasia, North America and Greenland. In Europe it is found from the Arctic southward to the Pyrenees, the Southern Alps and to Hungary and Romania. In Central Europe the species is particularly widespread in the Alps and rises to 2570 m. It is in Central Europe, an Arctic relict from the Würm Ice Age and is understood in many areas now in decline. The Colorful Horsetail is a light- loving pioneer plant and grows especially in sandy-gritty Flussalluvionen, in fens, in gravel pits at banks and in spring swamps. He is a Kennart the Tofieldietalia order.