Equisetum palustre has stems growing between 10-60 cm tall. The upright stems are usually scarcely branched with loose green leaf sheaths that have 5-10 narrow, dark teeth. The teeth are light at the edges. The lowestinternode of the upright branches are much shorter than the leaf sheath of the stem.[6][7]
The rough, furrowed stem is 1–3 mm diameter, with usually 8–10 ribs, in rare cases, 4–12; it bears a variable number ofwhorled branches.[6]
Thespores are spread by the wind (anemochory) and have four long ribbon-like structures attached to them. The spores sit onstrobili which are rounded on the top. Marsh horsetails often form runners, with which they also can proliferatevegetatively.[7]
Equisetum palustre is green from spring to autumn and growsspores from June to September. It grows primarily in nutrient-richwet meadows. It is found inEurope and thecircumpolar region up to mountainous heights. Its distribution is declining.[citation needed]
In Finland, it has benefited from human action and grows often in road and track sides, ditches and especially peat based fields and pastures.[7]
Equisetum palustre ispoisonous to mammals, most often reported as potentially fatal to horses, as it contains alkaloidspalustrine andpalustridiene, which destroyvitamin B1. According to Wink,Equisetum palustre also contains thiaminaseenzymes. It is also known to contain lesser amounts of nicotine. Many thiaminases, however, are denatured by heat, and some sources referEquisetum palustre safe to eat in moderate amounts when properly cooked.[10][11][12][13] In Finland, it used to lower the production of dairy when cows would eat them in place of other preferablefodder.[7]
^https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/235685921.pdf Heidelberg University, Institute of Pharmacy and Molecular Biotechnology (2009). Mode of action and toxicology of plant toxins and poisonous plants
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