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Taxon  Report  
Equisetum telmateia  Ehrh.  ssp. braunii  (J. Milde) Hauke
Giant horse tail,   Giant horsetail
Equisetum telmateia ssp. braunii is a fern that is native to California, and also found elsewhere in North America and beyond.
Siskiyou Del Norte Modoc Humboldt Shasta Lassen Trinity Plumas Tehama Butte Mendocino Glenn Sierra Yuba Lake Nevada Colusa Placer Sutter El Dorado Yolo Alpine Napa Sonoma Sacramento Mono Amador Solano Calaveras Tuolumne San Joaquin Marin Contra Costa Alameda Santa Cruz Mariposa Madera San Francisco San Mateo Merced Fresno Stanislaus Santa Clara Inyo San Benito Tulare Kings Monterey San Bernardino San Luis Obispo Kern Santa Barbara Ventura Los Angeles Riverside Orange San Diego Imperial
Parent: Equisetum telmateia
Genus: Equisetum
Family: Equisetaceae  
Category: fern  
PLANTS group:Horsetail
Jepson eFlora section: fern

Toxicity: Do not eat any part of this plant.

Wetlands: Occurs usually in wetlands, occasionally in non wetlands

Habitat: streambanks

Communities: Yellow Pine Forest, Foothill Woodland, Chaparral, Valley Grassland, wetland-riparian, many plant communities

Name Status:
Accepted by JEF

Alternate Names:
ICPNEquisetum telmateia var. braunii
POWOEquisetum braunii
PLANTSEquisetum telmateia var. braunii
Information about  Equisetum telmateia ssp. braunii from other sources
Nursery availability from CNPLX
This plant is available commercially.
Jepson eFlora

USDA PLANTS Profile (EQTEB)

Photos on Calflora

Photos on CalPhotos

Google Images

Photos on iNaturalist

ID Tips on PlantID.net

[Wikipedia] Range, Subspecies Information: Equisetum telmateia, the great horsetail or northern giant horsetail, is a species of Equisetum (puzzlegrass) with an unusual distribution, with one subspecies native to Europe, western Asia and northwest Africa, and a second subspecies native to western North America. The North American subspecies is often simply but ambiguously called "giant horsetail", but that name may just as well refer to the Latin American Equisetum giganteum and Equisetum myriochaetum. Equisetum telmateia subsp. braunii[7] (Milde) Hauke (syn. Equisetum braunii Milde). Northern giant horsetail. Western North America, from southeastern Alaska and western British Columbia south to California. Main stem between branch whorls green. (link added by Mary Ann Machi)


Suggested Citation
Calflora: Information on California plants for education, research and conservation, with data contributed by public and private institutions and individuals. [web application]. 2024. Berkeley, California: The Calflora Database [a non-profit organization]. Available: https://www.calflora.org/   (Accessed: 12/10/2024).