Equisetum hyemale

The Rough Horsetail is a perennial vascular plant native from temperate to Arctic regions of North America, Europe, and Asia. It is known by other names including Scouring Rush and Scouringrush Horsetail.

It is one of approximately twenty species in the genus Equisetum, which is the only genus in the family Equisetaceae and the only surviving family of the Equisetales group. The earliest Equisetum fossils appear in the Triassic Period of the Mesozoic Era, and the earliest fossils of the Equisetaceae family have been found in the Carboniferous Period of the Paleozoic Era.

The oldest known relative to the Rough Horsetail, Pseudobornia ursina, grew in the Denovian Period over 300 million years ago. Unlike today’s horsetails, P. ursina is believed to have grown up to 65 feet tall, predating trees of comparable size in the fossil record by 50 million years.

The Rough Horsetail can grow in full sun to partial shade and prefers moist habitats such as wetlands or the edges of rivers or streams. It grows up to 3 to 4 feet (~1 meter) tall and grows in colonies. It spreads via underground “runners" (also called burrowing rhizomes), so we recommend planting in pots, submerged planters, or with root barriers.

Cold hardy to USDA Zone 4 or to -25 degrees Fahrenheit.

For sale are one gallon potted plants