Equisetum fluviatile, Equisetum limosum, SE: Sjöfräken, dyfräken,
DE: Teich-Schachtelhalm, Schlamm-Schachtelhalm, NL: Holpijp,
UK: Water horsetail

Scientific name:  Equisetum fluviatile L.
Synonym name:  Equisetum limosum L.
Swedish name:  Sjöfräken, dyfräken
German name:  Teich-Schachtelhalm, Schlamm-Schachtelhalm
Nederlandse naam:  Holpijp
English name:  Water horsetail
Plant Family:  Equisetaceae, Horsetail family, Fräkenväxter

Sweden, Bloemen, Reizen, Vakantie

Life form:  Herbaceous perennial, creeping rhizomes, often with deep roots.
Stems:  Erect dark green stems 2-8 mm in diameter, smooth, with about 10-30 fine ridges. At each joint, the stem has a whorl of tiny, black-tipped scale leaves 5-10 mm long; 80% of the stem diameter hollow; ertile and sterile stems look alike.
Leaves:  At each joint, the stem has a whorl of tiny, black-tipped scale leaves 5-10 mm long
Flowers:  No flowers; instead, cone-like spore-producing structures develop at the ends of the fertile stems; cones are yellowish-green, 1-2 cm long and 1 cm broad, with numerous scales in dense whorls.
Flowering Period:  June, July
Fruits:  Produces spores instead of fruit
Habitat:  Shallow water, marshes, bogs, and streams

Sweden, nature, travel


Derivation of the botanical name:
Equisetum from the Latin equis, "horse" and seta, "bristle".
Equisetum is a primitive plant, a descendat of huge trees that lived in the Paleozoic era (542–251 million years ago).
It produces two different stalks. One is the fertile "joint-grass", the other is the sterile "horse-tail". The fertile stalk produces a cone-like structure at the top, which is covered with spore-producing scales.
fluviatile, of or belonging to a river.
limosum, of marshy or muddy places.
  • The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy.
Most often confused with Equisetum palustre (marsh horsetail) which has rougher stems with fewer (4-8) stem ridges with a smaller hollow in the stem centre, and longer spore cones 2-4 cm long.

Zweden, Bloemen, Natuur