Equisetum telmateia subsp. braunii

Giant horsetail, Giant Horsetail

Family: Equisetaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Giant horsetail is a native perennial found in northwestern California, the high Cascade Range, northern Sierra Nevada, central western California, and southwestern California in streambanks, roadside ditches, and seepage areas at elevations below 1,000 meters. Its fertile stems emerge early in the season, reaching 17 to 45 centimeters tall and appearing fleshy and brown, while sterile stems grow 30 to 100 centimeters tall in light green. Growing with distinctive segmented, jointed stems, this horsetail produces two types of annual stems: fertile stems that are ephemeral and sterile stems with prominent branch whorls. Its sterile stems feature characteristic sheaths 7 to 18 millimeters long with 14 to 28 dark teeth, and branches with 4 to 5 distinct grooved ridges. The plant's unique structural complexity allows it to thrive in moist, wet environments with its segmented, hollow stems typical of the horsetail family.

Habitat: Streambanks, roadside ditches, seepage areas

Elevation: < 1000 m

Bioregions: NW (exc NCoRH), CaRH, n SNF, n&ampc SNH, CW (exc SCoRI), SW (exc SnJt)

California counties: Orange, San Luis Obispo, Los Angeles, Ventura, San Diego, Alameda, Riverside, Marin, San Bernardino, Mendocino, Santa Barbara, Calaveras, Santa Cruz, San Mateo, Sonoma, Sacramento, Solano, San Joaquin, Humboldt, Trinity, Plumas, Butte, Monterey, Yuba, Glenn, Shasta, Tehama, Amador, Siskiyou, Del Norte, Contra Costa, Lake, Mono, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Yolo, Placer, Napa

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