liyinqi77's Journal

Horsetail Equisetum
Horsetail is a non-flowering plant from equisetaceae family in the equisetum genus. It is commonly referred to as the living fossil since it is the only living genus of the Equisetopsidaclass. The plant derives its name from two Latin words“equus” and“seta”, meaning "horse," and, "bristle" respectively. Horsetail originated from fern-like tree plants that existed 400 million years ago in ancient life. It is a globally distributed perennial plant with hollow, bright-green stems and bushy tail-like branches.
Horsetail is known by various names in different places such as snake grass in South Africa. Other names are Bottle-brush, Toadpipe, Scouring rush, Equisetum arvense, Horse willow, Horse herb and so on. It reproduces through spores. It grows to different heights depending on the species. The giant horsetails grow up to a height of 8 meters. The plant mostly grows naturally in moist and acidic sandy soil. It regrows easily and rapidly by underground runners making it a toxic weed. This poses a problem for farmers as the plant is resistant to any form of insecticides and pesticides.
The plant is versatile in nature. Historically, horsetail plant was widely known for its medicinal value. Horsetail parts that grow above the ground are used for medicinal purposes. It contains antioxidant and anti-inflammatory chemicals. It can be used to treat diseases such as tuberculosis, anemia, bleeding gums, ulcers, urinary tract infection, kidney stones, jaundice, gout, and osteoporosis. It can also be applied on the skin to heal wounds and burns. The stems are used to make music instruments such as saxophones. It is an ornamental plant planted to decorate balconies, walkways and walls. The rough abrasive branches are used for cleaning metal utensils and polishing wooden tools. In Asia, the young fertile shoots are cooked or eaten raw.

I took these picture of plants from Archery Ranch at Briones Park. One of my favorite plants that I found there is Miner's lettuce, the one always has some droplet on it, and it is usually has a little yellow flower in the center of its leaf. Along with the horsetails, they both exist in the moist environment. The another plant that I have captured called Bracken, it has the similar looking as sensitive plant but its leaf did not shrink when I touched it.

The first five pictures that I have posted were taken at the Oak woodland in UCB, where is under chaparral ecosystem, and the place that I took other five pictures is belongs to moist evergreen forest ecosystem. I found out the warmer the environment has, the smaller leaf of the tree.

The little white flower picture and the cactus picture with pink flower on it are the example of flowering phenology.
The tree on cliff with a lot of birds on it, is under leaf phenology category and they are bared and leafed out respectively.

As you can see these three species that I observed are very beautiful and high quality pictures. The first one is called Common Chuckwalla, was founded at the bottom of grand canyon. The helicopter took me to the bottom of the canyon, and one of the staff found this little creature sat on the stone enjoying sunshine. Moreover, after I back to my hotel, I found the gorgeous sunflower at the lobby. Lastly, the Labrador Retriver is my aunt's dog. In the picture, the left one is Raiv, the first son of Chris at the right side.