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Scouring Rush

Ferns and Fern Allies

Scouring rush, Equisetum hyemale, is a horsetail of the family Equisetaceae found across much of the Northern Hemisphere, distinguished from most other horsetails by its unbranched, hollow, jointed evergreen stems that persist through winter. Its stem walls contain substantial amounts of silica, giving the plant a gritty texture that led early American and European settlers to use bundles of the stems to scour pots and polish wood and metal, a practical use reflected directly in its common name.

Facts
Classification
Diet
Photosynthetic Autotroph 1
System (Realm)
Terrestrial 2
System (Realm)
Freshwater 2
Relationship to People
Invasive or Introduced Species 3
Relationship to People
Used in Traditional Medicine 3
Living or Extinct
Yes 4
Comparison
NatureServe Rank
G5 Secure 5
CITES Appendix
Not Listed 6
Scientific Name
Equisetum praealtum 7
Connections

Child Taxon Of

Horsetail, Species
Source Wikidata: Scouring Rush
Sources
1. Equisetum praealtum (Wikipedia)
Lead, sentence naming the group it belongs to
Quote, Lead, sentence naming the group it belongs to
Equisetum praealtum, the scouringrush horsetail, is a species of Equisetum (horsetail) native to North America and northeastern Asia.
View the Source
2. GBIF Species API
GBIF Species APIView the Source
3. Scouring Rush (Wikipedia)
  • In some areas the species are considered weeds or invasive
  • have been prepared as food or folk medicine
View the Source
4. Wikidata (taxon extant/extinct status)
Wikimedia Foundation / Wikidata contributorsQ66491651, descriptionView the Source
5. NatureServe Explorer: Equisetum praealtum
NatureServe ExplorerGlobal rank (roundedGRank)
Quote, Global rank (roundedGRank)
"roundedGRank": "G5"
View the Source
6. UNEP-WCMC Species+ database (CITES Secretariat): Species+: Plantae
UNEP-WCMC Species+ database (CITES Secretariat)Species+ taxon_concepts, id 45
Quote, Species+ taxon_concepts, id 45
"cites_listing":"I/II/III/NC","eu_listing":"A/B/C/D/NC","higher_taxa":{"kingdom":"Plantae","phylum":null,"class":null,"order":null,"family":null},"synonyms":[],"common_names":[{"name":"Plants","language":"EN"},{"name":"Flora","language":"EN"}],"cites_listings":[]
View the Source
7. Wikidata: Scouring Rush
Child Taxon Of: Horsetail, Wikidata P171 (parent taxon) claim, rank=normal, target=Q28114 (Horsetail)View the Source
Plant (Wikipedia)
Lead, whole group is photosynthetic
Quote, Lead, whole group is photosynthetic
They are predominantly photosynthetic or came from photosynthetic ancestors, meaning that they obtain their energy from sunlight by using the green pigment chlorophyll in their chloroplasts to produce sugars from carbon dioxide and water.
View the Source
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