Common Mares Tail, Hippuris vulgaris

About Common Mares Tail (Hippuris vulgaris) 1 Nurseries Carry This Plant

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Hippuris vulgaris, known as mare's-tail or common mare's tail, is a common aquatic plant of Eurasia and North America ranging from Greenland to the Tibetan Plateau to Arizona. It prefers non-acidic waters. The species is also sometimes called horsetail, a name which is better reserved to the horsetails of genus Equisetum. These are unrelated to H. vulgaris, although there is some resemblance in appearance. The common mare's tail is a creeping, perennial herb, found in shallow waters and mud flats. It roots underwater, but most of its leaves are above the water surface. The leaves occur in whorls of 6-12; those above water are 0. 5 to 2. 5 cm long and up to 3 mm wide, whereas those under water are thinner and limper, and longer than those above water, especially in deeper streams. The stems are solid and unbranched but often curve, and can be up to 60 cm long. In shallow water they project 20-30 cm out of the water. It grows from stout rhizomes. The flowers are inconspicuous, and not all plants produce them. Studies of H. vulgaris in the Tibetan Plateau have shown that it is a prolific methane emitter. H. vulgaris's roots extend into the anoxic zone of wetland soils and create a conduit for methane produced in the anoxic zone to travel to the atmosphere. Uses. In herbal medicine, mare's tail has a number of uses, chiefly to do with healing wounds, e. g. stopping internal and external bleeding, curing stomach ulcers, and soothing inflammation of the skin. It can also be a troublesome weed, obstructing the flow of water in rivers and ditches.

Plant Description

Plant Type

Perennial herb

Size

2 - 2.8 ft tall

Form

Upright

Growth Rate

Fast

Flower Color

Green

Flowering Season

Spring

Landscaping Information

Sun

Part Shade

Nurseries

Carried by 1

Soil Drainage

Standing

Soil Description

Adaptable, tolerant of sand, loam and clay

Common uses

Bogs and Ponds

Sunset Zones?

1*, 2*, 3*, 4*, 5*, 6*, 7*, 15*, 16*, 17*

Natural Setting

Site Type

Edges of shallow ponds, springs, marshes

Climate

Annual Precipitation: 7.5" - 72.2", Summer Precipitation: 0.25" - 2.76", Coldest Month: 21.3" - 48.7", Hottest Month: 49.7" - 74.3", Humidity: 0.38" - 21.20", Elevation: -2" - 8965"

Alternative Names

Common Names: Common Mare's-tail, Common Marestail

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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links: Jepson eFlora Taxon Page CalPhotos Wikipedia Calflora

Common Mares Tail

Hippuris vulgaris

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Common Mares TailHippuris vulgaris

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Common Mares Tail

Hippuris vulgaris