Tag: Scouring

Three hundred million years ago, the Equisetums were part of an extensive phylum of plants (Calamophyta) containing many genera. Distinguished by their straight stems with branches or leaves arranged in regular whorls, many of the plyla grew nearly 100 feet tall.
The only genus still present is the lowly and sometimes weedy Equisetum, and all that remain are mere remnants of the groups past glory.