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| Horsetails |
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| (Division Spenophyta, Family Equisetaceae) |
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Common name: Florissant horsetail or Florissant scouring rush. Millions of years before the Florissant lake shales were deposited, horsetails could grow to heights of 30 meters. “Equisetum” is a Latin term that roughly means “horse's bristle.” Scouring rush is a term used only for unbranched species, such as Equisetum arvense, which is those found in the modern Florissant area along riparian zones like the Twin Rock Trail. Horsetails contain abrasive silica, which made them useful for scouring pots in historical times. Horsetails lack obvious leaves, and have hollow, jointed stems. Like mosses and most ferns, horsetails reproduce by spores. Only one or two specimens of fossil horsetails are known from the Florissant Formation. References
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