Equisetum fluviatile L.

vernacular water horsetail — species · Equisetaceae

USDA: EQFL
GBIF: 2687937
Rank: species

water horsetail (Equisetum fluviatile) — Platephotograph · Jeannie Mounger source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & 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
L48 Lower 48 States Native
SPM St. Pierre & Miquelon Native

§2b

County-level range

· 4 counties across 2 states/territories

Legend Native · 4 Introduced · 0 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought: None
Shade: High
Moisture use: High
Fire: High
Salinity: None
Anaerobic: High
CaCO₃: Medium
Hedging: None

§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance: -33 °F minimum
Frost-free days: 100 min.
Precipitation: 30–55 in/yr
pH range: 4.5–6
Root depth: 6 in min.
Fertility need: Medium
Soil texture: coarse, medium, fine

§3c

Form & growth

Growth form: Rhizomatous
Growth rate: Rapid
Lifespan: Long
Mature height: 3 ft
Foliage texture: Fine
Foliage colour: Green
Porosity (summer): Porous
Porosity (winter): Porous
Flower colour: Green
Fruit colour: Brown
Fire resistant: No
N fixation: None
Toxicity: None

§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period: Late Spring
Seed abundance: None
Seed begins: Summer
Seed ends: Summer
Spread rate: None
Stratify: No
Propagation: sprigs

§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability: Routinely Available
Nursery stock: No
Palatable, human: No
Lumber: No
Christmas tree: No

§4Counties, by state

Recorded in 4 counties across 2 states/territories.

Montana view state ↗ 1 N ▾

Teton 30099

Rhode Island view state ↗ 3 N ▾

§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/EQFL ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/2687937 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-25

fetched 2026-05-25T18:27:19Z