Horsetails ( Equisetaceae ) are recurrent , ornamental plant life that grow from creeping rootstock . They look like miniature bamboo because of their undivided hollow , jointed stem turn with bristle - alike branch . During prehistorical times , they grew as bombastic tree diagram . The plant ’s weed - like properties contribute to their invasive nature ; however , when plant right , they can be a good addition to any type of garden . dissimilar diverseness are available in nursery . Choose the character that will become your garden easily .

Water Horsetail

Also get it on as swamp horsetail , water horsetail ( Equisetum fluviatile L. ) is a slim , dark green industrial plant that has hollow , jointed stems measuring up to 40 inch high , which are devoid of bloom and reliable leaves . The stems have 10 to 30 longitudinal ridge and thin walls , which make them weak . or else of blossom and fruits , a H2O horsetail has cone - same , spore - producing structures that seem at the end of the fat stems . The water horsetail ’s rough grain and corrugate stems are some of its main identifying features . appear at each join are whorls of tiny , black - tilted scales or curlicue of long branches joined together . The cones at the stem turn tip produce the spores . Often create a thick population near shorelines and in shallow water , piss horsetail is an idealistic plant life for a bog or water system garden .

Field Horsetail

Field horsetail ( Equisetum arvense L. ) consists of two types of radical ( unfertile and fecund ) that seem every year from rhizomes . The rhizomes are sarcoid and tuberous , measure out up to 3/4 column inch in diameter , and can arise in 1 or in pairs at the juncture . Fertile stems do not have chlorophyl and die down after shedding spores . They have dark , creeping , brown - woolly rootstock and are tuberous in nature . The stems measuring up to 4 inches long are brickle , unbranching and have a spore - bearing ending . They also appear interchangeable to edible asparagus sprouts at first glance . Sterile staunch measuring up to 2 feet are tough , wiry and look after the fertile stem and die down in decline . Whorls of numerous green branches come out from the articulation . The stems have 10 to 12 ridgeline . Sterile theme look more often than productive root do .

Scouring Rush Horsetail

Leafless , dark evergreen stems that are all fertile and do not die back in fall differentiate the scouring rush ( Equisetum hyemale ) from the field horsetails . The stems appear similar to those of the field of view horsetails ; however , they are green with two black ring - like bands at the joints . Each base can reach up to 4 feet tall upon maturity and has a spore - bearing cone cell , known as a strobilus , that appears on top in various shades of John Brown . Scour rush are predominant in the banks of ditch , or delimitation of waterway and reservoirs of the Pacific Northwest . Plant flush rush in pool and peat bog gardens using containers to keep them from taking over the garden .

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