Index / Search / Equisetum arvense
§1 Plant
Equisetum arvense L.
vernacular field horsetail — species · Equisetaceae
§2Habit & range
Habit and range
- Growth habit
- Forb/herb
- Duration
- Perennial
- Group
- Horsetail
- Family
- Equisetaceae Michx. ex DC.
- Genus
- Equisetum
§2a
Native status, by region
- AK Alaska Native
- CAN Canada Native
- GL Greenland Native
- L48 Lower 48 States Native
- SPM St. Pierre & Miquelon Native
§2b
County-level range
· 893 counties across 29 states/territories§3Cultivation specs · USDA
Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.
§3a
Tolerances
- Drought
- None
- Shade
- Medium
- Moisture use
- High
- Fire
- None
- Salinity
- None
- Anaerobic
- Medium
- CaCO₃
- Medium
- Hedging
- None
§3b
Climate & soil
- Cold tolerance
- -43 °F minimum
- Frost-free days
- 100 min.
- Precipitation
- 20–100 in/yr
- pH range
- 4–7
- Root depth
- 6 in min.
- Fertility need
- Low
- Soil texture
- coarse, medium, fine
§3c
Form & growth
- Growth form
- Rhizomatous
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Lifespan
- Short
- Mature height
- 0.9 ft
- Foliage texture
- Coarse
- Foliage colour
- Green
- Porosity (summer)
- Porous
- Porosity (winter)
- Porous
- Flower colour
- Green
- Fruit colour
- Green
- Fire resistant
- No
- N fixation
- None
- Toxicity
- Moderate
§3d
Reproduction
- Bloom period
- Spring
- Seed abundance
- Medium
- Seed begins
- Spring
- Seed ends
- Fall
- Spread rate
- Slow
- Stratify
- No
- Propagation
- seed, bare root, sprigs, tubers
§3e
Use & availability
- Commercial availability
- Routinely Available
- Nursery stock
- No
- Browse palatability
- Low
- Graze palatability
- Low
- Palatable, human
- No
- Lumber
- No
- Christmas tree
- No
§4Counties, by state
Recorded in 893 counties across 29 states/territories.
Alabama view state ↗ 4 N ▾
Alaska view state ↗ 22 N ▾
- Aleutians East 02013
- Aleutians West 02016
- Anchorage 02020
- Bethel 02050
- Chugach 02063
- Copper River 02066
- Denali 02068
- Dillingham 02070
- Fairbanks North Star 02090
- Haines 02100
- Juneau 02110
- Kenai Peninsula 02122
- Kodiak Island 02150
- Lake and Peninsula 02164
- Matanuska-Susitna 02170
- Nome 02180
- North Slope 02185
- Northwest Arctic 02188
- Sitka 02220
- Southeast Fairbanks 02240
- Yakutat 02282
- Yukon-Koyukuk 02290
Arizona view state ↗ 6 N ▾
Arkansas view state ↗ 7 N ▾
Delaware view state ↗ 3 N ▾
District of Columbia view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Georgia view state ↗ 4 N ▾
Illinois view state ↗ 102 N ▾
- Adams 17001
- Alexander 17003
- Bond 17005
- Boone 17007
- Brown 17009
- Bureau 17011
- Calhoun 17013
- Carroll 17015
- Cass 17017
- Champaign 17019
- Christian 17021
- Clark 17023
- Clay 17025
- Clinton 17027
- Coles 17029
- Cook 17031
- Crawford 17033
- Cumberland 17035
- De Witt 17039
- DeKalb 17037
- Douglas 17041
- DuPage 17043
- Edgar 17045
- Edwards 17047
- Effingham 17049
- Fayette 17051
- Ford 17053
- Franklin 17055
- Fulton 17057
- Gallatin 17059
- Greene 17061
- Grundy 17063
- Hamilton 17065
- Hancock 17067
- Hardin 17069
- Henderson 17071
- Henry 17073
- Iroquois 17075
- Jackson 17077
- Jasper 17079
- Jefferson 17081
- Jersey 17083
- Jo Daviess 17085
- Johnson 17087
- Kane 17089
- Kankakee 17091
- Kendall 17093
- Knox 17095
- Lake 17097
- LaSalle 17099
- Lawrence 17101
- Lee 17103
- Livingston 17105
- Logan 17107
- Macon 17115
- Macoupin 17117
- Madison 17119
- Marion 17121
- Marshall 17123
- Mason 17125
- Massac 17127
- McDonough 17109
- McHenry 17111
- McLean 17113
- Menard 17129
- Mercer 17131
- Monroe 17133
- Montgomery 17135
- Morgan 17137
- Moultrie 17139
- Ogle 17141
- Peoria 17143
- Perry 17145
- Piatt 17147
- Pike 17149
- Pope 17151
- Pulaski 17153
- Putnam 17155
- Randolph 17157
- Richland 17159
- Rock Island 17161
- Saline 17165
- Sangamon 17167
- Schuyler 17169
- Scott 17171
- Shelby 17173
- St. Clair 17163
- Stark 17175
- Stephenson 17177
- Tazewell 17179
- Union 17181
- Vermilion 17183
- Wabash 17185
- Warren 17187
- Washington 17189
- Wayne 17191
- White 17193
- Whiteside 17195
- Will 17197
- Williamson 17199
- Winnebago 17201
- Woodford 17203
Indiana view state ↗ 68 N ▾
- Allen 18003
- Bartholomew 18005
- Benton 18007
- Carroll 18015
- Cass 18017
- Clark 18019
- Clay 18021
- Clinton 18023
- Crawford 18025
- Decatur 18031
- Delaware 18035
- Elkhart 18039
- Fayette 18041
- Floyd 18043
- Fountain 18045
- Franklin 18047
- Fulton 18049
- Gibson 18051
- Grant 18053
- Greene 18055
- Hamilton 18057
- Hendricks 18063
- Henry 18065
- Howard 18067
- Huntington 18069
- Jackson 18071
- Jasper 18073
- Jay 18075
- Jefferson 18077
- Kosciusko 18085
- Lagrange 18087
- Lake 18089
- LaPorte 18091
- Lawrence 18093
- Madison 18095
- Marion 18097
- Marshall 18099
- Miami 18103
- Monroe 18105
- Montgomery 18107
- Morgan 18109
- Newton 18111
- Noble 18113
- Owen 18119
- Parke 18121
- Porter 18127
- Posey 18129
- Putnam 18133
- Randolph 18135
- Rush 18139
- Spencer 18147
- St. Joseph 18141
- Steuben 18151
- Sullivan 18153
- Switzerland 18155
- Tippecanoe 18157
- Tipton 18159
- Union 18161
- Vermillion 18165
- Vigo 18167
- Wabash 18169
- Warren 18171
- Warrick 18173
- Washington 18175
- Wayne 18177
- Wells 18179
- White 18181
- Whitley 18183
Iowa view state ↗ 71 N ▾
- Allamakee 19005
- Appanoose 19007
- Benton 19011
- Black Hawk 19013
- Boone 19015
- Bremer 19017
- Buena Vista 19021
- Calhoun 19025
- Carroll 19027
- Cerro Gordo 19033
- Chickasaw 19037
- Clay 19041
- Clayton 19043
- Clinton 19045
- Crawford 19047
- Dallas 19049
- Davis 19051
- Decatur 19053
- Delaware 19055
- Des Moines 19057
- Dickinson 19059
- Dubuque 19061
- Emmet 19063
- Fayette 19065
- Floyd 19067
- Greene 19073
- Grundy 19075
- Hamilton 19079
- Hancock 19081
- Hardin 19083
- Harrison 19085
- Ida 19093
- Iowa 19095
- Jackson 19097
- Jasper 19099
- Jefferson 19101
- Johnson 19103
- Jones 19105
- Keokuk 19107
- Lee 19111
- Linn 19113
- Louisa 19115
- Lyon 19119
- Madison 19121
- Marion 19125
- Marshall 19127
- Mitchell 19131
- Muscatine 19139
- O'Brien 19141
- Osceola 19143
- Palo Alto 19147
- Plymouth 19149
- Pocahontas 19151
- Polk 19153
- Pottawattamie 19155
- Poweshiek 19157
- Sac 19161
- Scott 19163
- Shelby 19165
- Story 19169
- Tama 19171
- Union 19175
- Van Buren 19177
- Wapello 19179
- Warren 19181
- Washington 19183
- Wayne 19185
- Winnebago 19189
- Winneshiek 19191
- Worth 19195
- Wright 19197
Kansas view state ↗ 20 N ▾
Kentucky view state ↗ 76 N ▾
- Anderson 21005
- Ballard 21007
- Barren 21009
- Bell 21013
- Bracken 21023
- Breathitt 21025
- Bullitt 21029
- Calloway 21035
- Campbell 21037
- Carlisle 21039
- Carroll 21041
- Carter 21043
- Clark 21049
- Clinton 21053
- Crittenden 21055
- Cumberland 21057
- Edmonson 21061
- Elliott 21063
- Estill 21065
- Fayette 21067
- Floyd 21071
- Fulton 21075
- Grayson 21085
- Green 21087
- Greenup 21089
- Hardin 21093
- Harlan 21095
- Hart 21099
- Henderson 21101
- Henry 21103
- Hickman 21105
- Jackson 21109
- Jefferson 21111
- Johnson 21115
- Kenton 21117
- Knott 21119
- Larue 21123
- Lawrence 21127
- Lee 21129
- Leslie 21131
- Letcher 21133
- Lewis 21135
- Lincoln 21137
- Livingston 21139
- Madison 21151
- Magoffin 21153
- Martin 21159
- Mason 21161
- McCreary 21147
- McLean 21149
- Meade 21163
- Menifee 21165
- Montgomery 21173
- Morgan 21175
- Muhlenberg 21177
- Nelson 21179
- Nicholas 21181
- Oldham 21185
- Pendleton 21191
- Perry 21193
- Pike 21195
- Powell 21197
- Pulaski 21199
- Rockcastle 21203
- Rowan 21205
- Scott 21209
- Shelby 21211
- Todd 21219
- Trigg 21221
- Trimble 21223
- Union 21225
- Warren 21227
- Wayne 21231
- Whitley 21235
- Wolfe 21237
- Woodford 21239
Maine view state ↗ 16 N ▾
Maryland view state ↗ 16 N ▾
Massachusetts view state ↗ 14 N ▾
Michigan view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Minnesota view state ↗ 79 N ▾
- Aitkin 27001
- Anoka 27003
- Becker 27005
- Beltrami 27007
- Benton 27009
- Big Stone 27011
- Blue Earth 27013
- Brown 27015
- Carlton 27017
- Carver 27019
- Cass 27021
- Chippewa 27023
- Chisago 27025
- Clay 27027
- Clearwater 27029
- Cook 27031
- Cottonwood 27033
- Crow Wing 27035
- Dakota 27037
- Dodge 27039
- Douglas 27041
- Faribault 27043
- Fillmore 27045
- Freeborn 27047
- Goodhue 27049
- Hennepin 27053
- Houston 27055
- Hubbard 27057
- Isanti 27059
- Itasca 27061
- Jackson 27063
- Kanabec 27065
- Kandiyohi 27067
- Kittson 27069
- Koochiching 27071
- Lac qui Parle 27073
- Lake 27075
- Lake of the Woods 27077
- Le Sueur 27079
- Lincoln 27081
- Lyon 27083
- Mahnomen 27087
- Marshall 27089
- Martin 27091
- McLeod 27085
- Meeker 27093
- Mille Lacs 27095
- Morrison 27097
- Mower 27099
- Murray 27101
- Nicollet 27103
- Nobles 27105
- Norman 27107
- Olmsted 27109
- Otter Tail 27111
- Pennington 27113
- Pine 27115
- Pipestone 27117
- Polk 27119
- Pope 27121
- Ramsey 27123
- Red Lake 27125
- Redwood 27127
- Renville 27129
- Rice 27131
- Rock 27133
- Scott 27139
- Sibley 27143
- St. Louis 27137
- Stearns 27145
- Steele 27147
- Traverse 27155
- Wabasha 27157
- Waseca 27161
- Washington 27163
- Wilkin 27167
- Winona 27169
- Wright 27171
- Yellow Medicine 27173
Mississippi view state ↗ 3 N ▾
Montana view state ↗ 11 N ▾
New Hampshire view state ↗ 10 N ▾
New Jersey view state ↗ 21 N ▾
New York view state ↗ 54 N ▾
- Albany 36001
- Allegany 36003
- Bronx 36005
- Broome 36007
- Cattaraugus 36009
- Cayuga 36011
- Chautauqua 36013
- Chemung 36015
- Columbia 36021
- Cortland 36023
- Delaware 36025
- Dutchess 36027
- Erie 36029
- Essex 36031
- Franklin 36033
- Fulton 36035
- Genesee 36037
- Greene 36039
- Herkimer 36043
- Kings 36047
- Lewis 36049
- Livingston 36051
- Madison 36053
- Monroe 36055
- Nassau 36059
- New York 36061
- Niagara 36063
- Oneida 36065
- Onondaga 36067
- Ontario 36069
- Orange 36071
- Oswego 36075
- Putnam 36079
- Queens 36081
- Rensselaer 36083
- Richmond 36085
- Rockland 36087
- Saratoga 36091
- Schenectady 36093
- Schoharie 36095
- Seneca 36099
- St. Lawrence 36089
- Steuben 36101
- Suffolk 36103
- Sullivan 36105
- Tioga 36107
- Tompkins 36109
- Ulster 36111
- Warren 36113
- Washington 36115
- Wayne 36117
- Westchester 36119
- Wyoming 36121
- Yates 36123
North Carolina view state ↗ 27 N ▾
- Alamance 37001
- Ashe 37009
- Avery 37011
- Beaufort 37013
- Burke 37023
- Caswell 37033
- Catawba 37035
- Durham 37063
- Greene 37079
- Guilford 37081
- Halifax 37083
- Haywood 37087
- Hyde 37095
- Iredell 37097
- Jackson 37099
- Madison 37115
- McDowell 37111
- Mitchell 37121
- New Hanover 37129
- Polk 37149
- Rockingham 37157
- Stokes 37169
- Surry 37171
- Swain 37173
- Tyrrell 37177
- Watauga 37189
- Yancey 37199
Pennsylvania view state ↗ 67 N ▾
- Adams 42001
- Allegheny 42003
- Armstrong 42005
- Beaver 42007
- Bedford 42009
- Berks 42011
- Blair 42013
- Bradford 42015
- Bucks 42017
- Butler 42019
- Cambria 42021
- Cameron 42023
- Carbon 42025
- Centre 42027
- Chester 42029
- Clarion 42031
- Clearfield 42033
- Clinton 42035
- Columbia 42037
- Crawford 42039
- Cumberland 42041
- Dauphin 42043
- Delaware 42045
- Elk 42047
- Erie 42049
- Fayette 42051
- Forest 42053
- Franklin 42055
- Fulton 42057
- Greene 42059
- Huntingdon 42061
- Indiana 42063
- Jefferson 42065
- Juniata 42067
- Lackawanna 42069
- Lancaster 42071
- Lawrence 42073
- Lebanon 42075
- Lehigh 42077
- Luzerne 42079
- Lycoming 42081
- McKean 42083
- Mercer 42085
- Mifflin 42087
- Monroe 42089
- Montgomery 42091
- Montour 42093
- Northampton 42095
- Northumberland 42097
- Perry 42099
- Philadelphia 42101
- Pike 42103
- Potter 42105
- Schuylkill 42107
- Snyder 42109
- Somerset 42111
- Sullivan 42113
- Susquehanna 42115
- Tioga 42117
- Union 42119
- Venango 42121
- Warren 42123
- Washington 42125
- Wayne 42127
- Westmoreland 42129
- Wyoming 42131
- York 42133
Rhode Island view state ↗ 5 N ▾
Tennessee view state ↗ 41 N ▾
- Anderson 47001
- Blount 47009
- Campbell 47013
- Carroll 47017
- Carter 47019
- Cheatham 47021
- Claiborne 47025
- Cocke 47029
- Cumberland 47035
- Davidson 47037
- Dickson 47043
- Dyer 47045
- Fentress 47049
- Greene 47059
- Grundy 47061
- Hawkins 47073
- Haywood 47075
- Henry 47079
- Johnson 47091
- Knox 47093
- Lake 47095
- Lauderdale 47097
- Madison 47113
- Montgomery 47125
- Morgan 47129
- Obion 47131
- Overton 47133
- Polk 47139
- Putnam 47141
- Scott 47151
- Sequatchie 47153
- Shelby 47157
- Stewart 47161
- Sullivan 47163
- Sumner 47165
- Tipton 47167
- Unicoi 47171
- Van Buren 47175
- Washington 47179
- Weakley 47183
- White 47185
Vermont view state ↗ 13 N ▾
Virginia view state ↗ 85 N ▾
- Accomack 51001
- Albemarle 51003
- Alleghany 51005
- Amelia 51007
- Amherst 51009
- Appomattox 51011
- Arlington 51013
- Augusta 51015
- Bath 51017
- Bedford 51019
- Bland 51021
- Botetourt 51023
- Buchanan 51027
- Buckingham 51029
- Campbell 51031
- Caroline 51033
- Carroll 51035
- Charles City 51036
- Charlotte 51037
- Chesapeake (city) 51550
- Chesterfield 51041
- Clarke 51043
- Craig 51045
- Culpeper 51047
- Dickenson 51051
- Fairfax 51059
- Fauquier 51061
- Fluvanna 51065
- Franklin 51067
- Frederick 51069
- Giles 51071
- Gloucester 51073
- Goochland 51075
- Grayson 51077
- Greene 51079
- Halifax 51083
- Hampton (city) 51650
- Henrico 51087
- Henry 51089
- Highland 51091
- Isle of Wight 51093
- James City 51095
- King and Queen 51097
- King George 51099
- Lancaster 51103
- Lee 51105
- Loudoun 51107
- Louisa 51109
- Lunenburg 51111
- Madison 51113
- Mathews 51115
- Mecklenburg 51117
- Middlesex 51119
- Montgomery 51121
- Nelson 51125
- New Kent 51127
- Newport News (city) 51700
- Northampton 51131
- Northumberland 51133
- Nottoway 51135
- Page 51139
- Patrick 51141
- Pittsylvania 51143
- Prince William 51153
- Pulaski 51155
- Rappahannock 51157
- Richmond 51159
- Roanoke 51161
- Rockbridge 51163
- Rockingham 51165
- Russell 51167
- Scott 51169
- Shenandoah 51171
- Smyth 51173
- Southampton 51175
- Spotsylvania 51177
- Stafford 51179
- Surry 51181
- Tazewell 51185
- Warren 51187
- Washington 51191
- Westmoreland 51193
- Wise 51195
- Wythe 51197
- York 51199
West Virginia view state ↗ 46 N ▾
- Berkeley 54003
- Boone 54005
- Braxton 54007
- Brooke 54009
- Cabell 54011
- Calhoun 54013
- Doddridge 54017
- Fayette 54019
- Grant 54023
- Greenbrier 54025
- Hampshire 54027
- Hancock 54029
- Hardy 54031
- Harrison 54033
- Jefferson 54037
- Kanawha 54039
- Lincoln 54043
- Logan 54045
- Marion 54049
- Marshall 54051
- Mason 54053
- McDowell 54047
- Mercer 54055
- Mineral 54057
- Mingo 54059
- Monongalia 54061
- Monroe 54063
- Nicholas 54067
- Ohio 54069
- Pendleton 54071
- Pleasants 54073
- Pocahontas 54075
- Preston 54077
- Raleigh 54081
- Randolph 54083
- Ritchie 54085
- Summers 54089
- Taylor 54091
- Tucker 54093
- Tyler 54095
- Upshur 54097
- Webster 54101
- Wetzel 54103
- Wirt 54105
- Wood 54107
- Wyoming 54109
§5Sources & provenance
USDA PLANTS
Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.
plants.usda.gov/EQAR ↗GBIF Backbone
Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.
gbif.org/species/7924597 ↗Record version
Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:
usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26
fetched 2026-05-26T07:25:30Z