The Distribution and Ecology of Water Horsetail (Equisetum fluviatile) in Northern Wetlands

Abstract

The d i s t r i b u t i o n o f Equisetum f l u v i a t i l e on t h e Mackenzie Delta, N.W.T., Canada was examined between 1981 and 1987. E. f l u v i a t i l e occupied mineral and organic substrates on t h e l o w e r s h o r e l i n e s o f s t a b l e channels and lakes t h a t were f l o o d e d f o r 1 t o 3 months d u r i n g t h e growing season, and r e c e i v e d 1 t o 15 cm annual deposits o f s i l t y alluvium. The d i s t r i b u t i o n o f E. f l u v i a t i l e i n t h e tundra o f t h e o u t e r d e l t a ( n o r t h o f 69 degrees l a t i t i i d e l was patchy and r e s t r i c t e d t o i n f i 1 l i n g i n t e r -l e v e e basins. Sexual r e p r o d u c t i o n was n o t observed d u r i n g t h e study; E. f l u v i a t i l e propagated and c o l o n i z e d new s i t e s by t h e p r o d u c t i o n o f -annual stems from underground rhizomes and d i s p e r s a l o f p l a n t fragments d u r i n g i c e breakup f l o o d i n g and muskrat grazing. N a t u r a l p r o l i f e r a t i o n o f stem fragments was observed, b u t t h e propagules d i d n o t survive.

Growth Dynamics ofEquisetum fluviatileat Lakeshore Swamps in the Jiuzhaigou National Nature Reserve, Sichuan, China

“…Equisetumfluviatile is widely distributed in Asia, Europe (Jalas and Suominen 1972), and North America (Pearce and Cordes 1988). It is a perennial plant that depends on its rhizomes for survival and dispersal.…”