Equisetum hyemale ssp. affine Calflora

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Taxon Report

Equisetum hyemale L. ssp. affine (Engelm.) Calder & Roy L. Taylor

Giant scouring rush

Equisetum hyemale ssp. affine is a fern that is native to California, and also found elsewhere in North America and beyond.


	Plant Range Observation Search ~681 records in California Plant Characteristics

Photos on Calflora


Parent:	Equisetum hyemale
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:


OTHER	Equisetum hyemale var. affine
JEF	Equisetum hyemale var. californicum
JEF	Equisetum hyemale var. robustum
PLANTS	Equisetum hyemale var. affine
POWO	Equisetum praealtum

Information about Equisetum hyemale ssp. affine from other sources


Nursery availability from CNPLX This plant is available commercially. Jepson eFlora USDA PLANTS Profile (EQHYA) Photos on Calflora Photos on CalPhotos Google Images Photos on iNaturalist ID Tips on PlantID.net	ITIS Original Publication citation International Plants Names Index Search efloras.org (Flora of North America) Landscape information from Calscape BONAP Distribution Map Consortium of California Herbaria 2 Search the Native American Ethnobotany Database	Add an Observation Location Suitability Planting Guide Distribution by County
photos / record / common / links

Suggested Citation

Calflora: Information on California plants for education, research and conservation, with data contributed by public and private institutions and individuals. [web application]. 2025. The Calflora Database [a non-profit organization]. Available: https://www.calflora.org/ (Accessed: 03/28/2025).