Equisetum laevigatum

Smooth scouring rush, Smooth Scouring Rush

Family: Equisetaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Smooth scouring rush is a native perennial found in northwestern California, the high Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, Central Valley, central western California, southwestern California, Great Basin, and desert regions at elevations below 3,000 meters. Growing in moist, sandy or gravelly areas, this distinctive horsetail produces a single type of green stem reaching 30 to 180 centimeters tall with segmented, jointed structure. The stems are characterized by distinctive sheaths 6 to 15 millimeters long, typically featuring a dark band at the tip and 10 to 26 teeth that are generally deciduous. Its unique botanical structure lacks branches, with a rounded cone tip that distinguishes it from other similar rush-like plants. This plant is particularly notable for its smooth, segmented green stems that create a distinctive architectural form in moist habitats.

Habitat: Moist, sandy or gravelly areas

Elevation: < 3000 m

Bioregions: NW, CaRH, SN (exc Teh), GV, CW (exc SCoRI), SW, GB (exc Wrn), D

California counties: Trinity, San Bernardino, Siskiyou, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, Plumas, San Luis Obispo, Tulare, Solano, Los Angeles, Mono, Inyo, Orange, Kern, Amador, Butte, Colusa, Contra Costa, Fresno, Humboldt, Lake, Lassen, Madera, Mariposa, Mendocino, Modoc, Monterey, Napa, San Joaquin, Sierra, Sonoma, Sutter, Tuolumne, Alpine, Calaveras, Santa Clara, Marin, Nevada, Kings, Shasta, El Dorado, Placer, Tehama, Glenn, Stanislaus, Alameda, San Francisco, Del Norte, Yolo, Imperial, Sacramento, Merced

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.