The spore-spreading field horsetail grows almost anywhere

Growing up to 30 cm in early spring, field horsetail’s pallid, distinctly jointed, cone-headed stem appears akin to an elongated mushroom. Indeed, it lacks chlorophyll and releases hundreds of thousands of pale, green spores within days of appearing. Yet it is one of the world’s most widespread and adaptable plants, inhabiting low-lying forests, fields, watersides, wetlands, and high arctic tundra across the northern hemisphere. As the succulent fertile stems shrivel after shedding their spores, they’re quickly replaced by far more numerous green, non-reproductive horsetail stems rising separately from the soil. While they look like miniature Christmas trees—with circular whorls of needle-like branches sprouting around each joint of their hollow stems—they perish with autumn frosts. Horsetail feels rough to the touch because its stems and branches are frosted with silica—minute particles…