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Scouring Rush

Equisetum praealtum

Found in riverbanks, alluvial floodplains. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

13
Modest

Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 94%

Height
1–11 feet
Spread
1–6 feet
Light
Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Usually moist

Space about 3.5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 8 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

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At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
May to September

Not yet recorded · Leaves

Recorded in 83 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 2

Streams, rivers and their banks

Watauga Falls
Named place / source context. Shown: Watauga Falls, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Watauga Falls, Illustrator/engraver not confidently attributed; reproduced in Zeigler and Grosscup, The Heart of the Alleghanies (1883), 1883. Public domain. Source record.

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

0CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
8BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Equisetum

  • Anser caerulescensSnow Goose
  • Antigone canadensisSandhill Crane
  • Bonasa umbellusRuffed Grouse
  • Branta canadensisCanada Goose
  • Cygnus buccinatorTrumpeter Swan
  • Falcipennis canadensisSpruce Grouse
  • Lagopus lagopusWillow Ptarmigan
  • Lagopus mutaRock Ptarmigan
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Equisetaceae
Hardiness
Zones 4a–9b
Soil pH
Neutral to alkaline

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

E. hyemale; E. hyemale ssp. affine

Conservation status

Virginia rankS5
Global rankG5
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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How to check your spot

Sources