About Equisetum braunii Milde
Equisetum braunii Milde is an herbaceous perennial plant that produces two distinct types of stems: separate green photosynthetic sterile stems, and pale yellowish non-photosynthetic spore-bearing fertile stems. Sterile stems emerge in late spring and die back in late autumn. They reach 30–100 cm (12–39 in) tall, rarely growing up to 200 cm (79 in), and are 1 cm (0.39 in) in diameter. The stems are heavily branched, bearing whorls of 14–40 unbranched branches. These branches grow up to 20 cm (7.9 in) long and 1–2 mm (3⁄64–5⁄64 in) in diameter, emerging from the axils of a ring of bracts. Fertile stems emerge in early spring before sterile shoots, growing 17–45 cm (6.7–17.7 in) tall, with no side branches and an apical spore-bearing strobilus. Spores disperse in mid spring, and fertile stems die immediately after spore release. This species also spreads via rhizomes that grow 0.6–1.2 m (2 ft 0 in – 3 ft 11 in) deep. Unlike the closely similar species Equisetum telmateia, the main stems of Equisetum braunii Milde are green and photosynthetic. It grows in damp habitats including spring fens and seepage lines.
