| Ferns and Fern Allies | |||
| Common Name: | Horsetail | Scientific Name: | Equisetum spp. |
| Best Seen: | All Year; Sprouts seen within a few feet of Aptos Creek, beginning as early as late February. | Native: | Yes |
| Special Comments: | Horsetails are decendants of an ancient tree-like plant that once covered the earth and are considered one of the world's oldest plants. Its relatives lived during the Devonian period (408 million years ago).
Horestails have glass-like silica embedded in its ribbed stems. Several books report that because of the harsh silica, settlers used these plants as scouring utensils. Miners of the past searched the horsetail for flecks of gold. A positive find would indicate that the stream might contain gold ore. Costanoans of the past and present use these unusual but common plants to add a dark-colored pattern to their baskets. The picture on the left is of horsetails sprouting in leaf litter during spring. The second picture is of mature horsetails growing Along Aptos Creek. |
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