horsetails
Spore-bearing marsh plants
Horsetails are primitive plants with hollow, jointed stems and no true leaves or flowers.
They reproduce by spores rather than seeds and have survived largely unchanged since prehistoric times.
The stems feel rough due to silica deposits, which led to their historical use for scouring pots—hence the alternate name scouring rush.
Horsetails spread aggressively near the pond.
Horizontal underground plant stem
- sporeAsexual reproductive cell
- jointedHaving flexible connections
- hollowEmpty within
- stemPlant's central axis
silica · nodes · sheaths · whorled · branches · cone · perennial · vascular
Steeping to extract essence
- decoctionBoiled herbal concentrate
- tisaneHerbal infusion beverage
- diureticUrine-promoting substance
- astringentTissue-contracting agent
tonic · remedy · silica · hair · nails · bones · kidney · urinary
Vigorous abrasive cleaning
- polishingSmoothing by friction
- scrubbingCleaning by rubbing hard
- silicaSilicon dioxide compound
- grittyCoarse or courageous
cleaning · pewter · pots · wood · rust · sandpaper · pioneers · settlers
Last Mesozoic period
- prehistoricBefore documented civilization
- ancientVery old indeed
- paleobotanyStudy of ancient flora
- fossilizationOrganic remains becoming mineral
sedimentary · stratigraphy · petrified · coal · swamps · giant · spore-bearing · primitive
rhizome
Horizontal underground plant stem
stem · silica · nodes · sheaths · whorled · branches · cone · perennial · vascular · nonflowering
infusion
Steeping to extract essence
astringent · tonic · remedy · silica · hair · nails · bones · kidney · urinary · traditional
scouring
Vigorous abrasive cleaning
gritty · cleaning · pewter · pots · wood · rust · sandpaper · pioneers · settlers · frontier
cretaceous
Last Mesozoic period
- prehistoricBefore documented civilization
- ancientVery old indeed
- paleobotanyStudy of ancient flora
fossilization · sedimentary · stratigraphy · petrified · coal · swamps · giant · spore-bearing · primitive · vascular
- horsetails
- plantstree, plants, leaves, bluebonnet, trees
- plant groupsangiosperms, gymnosperms, monocots, dicots, flowering plants
- spore plantsferns, fern, mosses, liverwort, hornwort
- cryptogamsferns, mosses, lichens, liverworts, hornworts
- streptophytesmosses, liverworts, hornworts, flowering plants, angiosperms
horsetailsferns
Spore-bearing vascular plants
mosses · clubmosses · liverworts · conifers · flowering plants
horsetailsflowering plants
Seed-bearing plants with blooms
angiosperms · orchids · grasses · hardwood trees · monocots