Common Name:
SMOOTH SCOURING RUSH
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Coefficient of Conservatism:
2
Coefficient of Wetness:
-3
Wetness Index:
FACW
Physiognomy:
Nt Fern Al
ex W. H. Wagner slide collection
Moist to dry sandy shores, low dunes, meadows, prairies, roadsides, railway embankments, ditches, also fens and open swamps; rarely in heavily shaded sites.
Plants keying here, but with persistent sheath teeth and stems narrower than usual are probably Equisetum ×nelsonii where the fact that the lower internodes are evergreen was overlooked.
Equisetum ×nelsonii is a common hybrid of E. laevigatum and E. variegatum, especially prevalent in disturbed areas with sandy soils, including naturally disturbed sites such as dunes, beaches, and shores as well as sites artificially disturbed such as borrow pits, road banks, and railway verges. As might be expected from a hybrid, presumably formed repeatedly many times, the appearance of the plant can be somewhat variable, often resembling somewhat robust E. variegatum but with smoother stem ridges, but sometimes robust and looking like a narrow-stemmed E. laevigatum with ± persistent sheath teeth. Plants keying to Equisetum ×nelsonii, but with a dark band at the base as well as at the apex of the lower sheaths are probably occasional small individuals of E. ×ferrissii, (see E. hyemale) which are, unfortunately, difficult to accommodate in the key.