Edit History
Equisetum ramosissimum Desf. subsp ramosissimum [family EQUISETACEAE]
Date Updated: 19 August 2007
Herbarium
South African National Biodiversity Institute, Compton Herbarium, Cape Town (SAM)
Collection
Swaziland ferns and fern allies
Resource Type
Reference Sources
Entry From
Swaziland Ferns and Fern Allies, (2003) Author: J.P. Roux
Names
Equisetum ramosissimum Desf. subsp ramosissimum [family EQUISETACEAE]
Common names
ramosissimum = many-branched
Vernacular names: Scouring rush, Horsetail; Bewerasiegras, Dronkgras, Drilgras, Lidjiesgras, Perdestert, Paardestaart (Afr.); Mohlaka-photoane (Ses.); Ishobalehashi, Isikhumukele (Zulu)
Information
Plants terrestrial. Rhizome subterranean, jointed, 3-6 mm in diameter, roots borne in whorls at the nodes. Stems erect, to 1.5 m tall, to 5 mm in diameter, branches borne in whorls at the nodes, up to 14 in each whorl, to 130 mm long, to 1.5 mm in diameter, main stem and branches ridged, bearing silicaceous tubercules or bands, with regular rows of paracytic sunken stomata in the sulci, in cross section with a prominent central canal and small vallecular (under sinuses) and carinal (under ridges) canals. Leaves membranous to thinly chartaceus, each with a single central vein, whorled, fused into a nodal sheath, to 11 mm long, ending in acuminate teeth, to 2 mm long, turning black with age, margins hyaline, estomate. Sporangia elongate, thin-walled, dehiscing longitudinally, borne on stalked, peltate sporangiophores forming a strobilus terminally on a main stem or branch, to 18 mm long, to 5 mm in diameter, each sporangiophore bears 6-9 sporangia. Spores spheroidal, chlorophyllose, with 4 spathulate hygroscopic elaters. Figure 4C & D.
Habitat
Ecology: Terrestrial, generally in humid sand, gravel, mud or silt on floodplains and in stream and riverbeds. Often also invasive in cultivated fields. Exposed or in partial shade. Geophyte, mesoxerophytic; aerial stems meso-xeromorphic. Seasonal pattern apparently nonexistent, strobili possible throughout the year. Vegetative reproduction by the subterranean branched rhizome. Pyrophytic.
Use
Uses: Equisetum is of economic importance to the stock farmer as it is poisonous when consumed in large quantities, the toxic principle probably being the enzyme thiaminase that destroys vitamin B1. This causes livestock to appear drunk and they may harm themselves. The Sesotho use the plant for various ailments and rituals. Phillips (1917) reports that the rhizomes are cooked and a decoction is drunk by barren woman so that they may become pregnant. The plant is used as a charm to drive caterpillars from the maize fields. This is done by encapsulating some of the caterpillars in clay balls which are then burnt in the fields. The Zulu use the sap from the plant to relieve toothache and is also applied to the wound after tooth extraction (Gerstner 1939).
Range
Distribution: The species is widespread in Swaziland, occurring along most of the major draining systems at altitudes ranging from ± 150 m along the Mlawula River to 800 m on the western highveld. The species is widespread in the eastern parts of westcentral tropical Africa, east and south tropical Africa, south tropical and southern Africa, Macaronesia, the western Indian Ocean region, Egypt, southern and central Europe and Asia, except Malaysia. Equisetum ramosissimum Desf. subsp. debile (Roxb. ex Vaucher) Hauke occurs from India and southern China through Malaysia to New Caledonia and Fiji.
Date Updated: 19 August 2007
Herbarium
South African National Biodiversity Institute, Compton Herbarium, Cape Town (SAM)
Collection
Swaziland ferns and fern allies
Resource Type
Reference Sources
Entry From
Swaziland Ferns and Fern Allies, (2003) Author: J.P. Roux
Names
Equisetum ramosissimum Desf. subsp ramosissimum [family EQUISETACEAE]
Common names
ramosissimum = many-branched
Vernacular names: Scouring rush, Horsetail; Bewerasiegras, Dronkgras, Drilgras, Lidjiesgras, Perdestert, Paardestaart (Afr.); Mohlaka-photoane (Ses.); Ishobalehashi, Isikhumukele (Zulu)
Information
Plants terrestrial. Rhizome subterranean, jointed, 3-6 mm in diameter, roots borne in whorls at the nodes. Stems erect, to 1.5 m tall, to 5 mm in diameter, branches borne in whorls at the nodes, up to 14 in each whorl, to 130 mm long, to 1.5 mm in diameter, main stem and branches ridged, bearing silicaceous tubercules or bands, with regular rows of paracytic sunken stomata in the sulci, in cross section with a prominent central canal and small vallecular (under sinuses) and carinal (under ridges) canals. Leaves membranous to thinly chartaceus, each with a single central vein, whorled, fused into a nodal sheath, to 11 mm long, ending in acuminate teeth, to 2 mm long, turning black with age, margins hyaline, estomate. Sporangia elongate, thin-walled, dehiscing longitudinally, borne on stalked, peltate sporangiophores forming a strobilus terminally on a main stem or branch, to 18 mm long, to 5 mm in diameter, each sporangiophore bears 6-9 sporangia. Spores spheroidal, chlorophyllose, with 4 spathulate hygroscopic elaters. Figure 4C & D.
Habitat
Ecology: Terrestrial, generally in humid sand, gravel, mud or silt on floodplains and in stream and riverbeds. Often also invasive in cultivated fields. Exposed or in partial shade. Geophyte, mesoxerophytic; aerial stems meso-xeromorphic. Seasonal pattern apparently nonexistent, strobili possible throughout the year. Vegetative reproduction by the subterranean branched rhizome. Pyrophytic.
Use
Uses: Equisetum is of economic importance to the stock farmer as it is poisonous when consumed in large quantities, the toxic principle probably being the enzyme thiaminase that destroys vitamin B1. This causes livestock to appear drunk and they may harm themselves. The Sesotho use the plant for various ailments and rituals. Phillips (1917) reports that the rhizomes are cooked and a decoction is drunk by barren woman so that they may become pregnant. The plant is used as a charm to drive caterpillars from the maize fields. This is done by encapsulating some of the caterpillars in clay balls which are then burnt in the fields. The Zulu use the sap from the plant to relieve toothache and is also applied to the wound after tooth extraction (Gerstner 1939).
Range
Distribution: The species is widespread in Swaziland, occurring along most of the major draining systems at altitudes ranging from ± 150 m along the Mlawula River to 800 m on the western highveld. The species is widespread in the eastern parts of westcentral tropical Africa, east and south tropical Africa, south tropical and southern Africa, Macaronesia, the western Indian Ocean region, Egypt, southern and central Europe and Asia, except Malaysia. Equisetum ramosissimum Desf. subsp. debile (Roxb. ex Vaucher) Hauke occurs from India and southern China through Malaysia to New Caledonia and Fiji.
![Equisetum ramosissimum Desf. subsp ramosissimum [family EQUISETACEAE]](/fsi/img/misc/plants/static_thumbs/swaziland_icon96.jpg)
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