Shirley Hibberd on Horsetails

From 'The Fern Garden', London 1881.

HORSETAILS OR EQUISETUMS.-There is a rather troublesome weed of very elegant structure and curious history, met with in undrained clay and loamy soils; it is of a pale green colour, and consists of a tough and rather decumbent stem, surrounded with whorls of thread-like branches, its true leaves, if it has any, being in the form of minute scales, placed around points or rings which occur at regular intervals on the stems. The plant is known to country people as the "horsetail" or "mare's-tail," and in botany is called Equisetum arvense, the field Equisetum. Though a troublesome weed, and one that is detested where it grows plentifully, it is well worth a place in the fernery, and when planted in a shady bank of peat, it spreads fast, and makes its appearance in all sorts of places, but does not drive better things out of the way, or even render itself objectionable. I have some of it in a shady part of my fernery, and very much enjoy the mixture of its elegant light green spray with such ferns as Onoclea sensibilis, and others that have bold-looking fronds. Those who know this plant, as probably most of our readers do, will be, perhaps, prejudiced in favour of the genus to which it belongs. But whether such be the case or not, I wish to recommend these plants to the notice of fern-growers, as suited to contribute in a special manner to the interest of a collection of acrogenous plants. I have all the species that are known, and one of them I consider the most elegant of all plants ever seen upon the face of the earth. This gem is called Equisetum sylvaticum, one stem of which is represented in the accompanying figure. If the reader can imagine a nine-inch pot, with about fifty of these stems crowded together in it, all of them arching over with exquisite grace, like feathers from the tails of birds of Paradise, the colour the most tender shade of emerald green, no apology will be needed for calling attention to it in these pages, for it is, in fact, one of the most desirable of plants for the fern garden.

Equisetum sylvaticum is a British plant, very scarce generally, but plentiful enough in some districts. When met with it is usually in a peaty soil, beside a water-course in a shady wood, or on a bank beside a ditch overhung with trees and rank herbage; always in a moist, shady spot, and if not in peat, in some light soil of similar nature. My best plants in pots are kept under a stage, and have all the drip that results from the watering of plants above them, besides the water given them in the usual way, and their appearance is so delightful, they so fascinate me that I never enter the house where they are kept without having a peep at them. They are to me a feast which never satiates, though I sometimes become tired of flowers, especially after I have for weeks constantly been visiting great gardens, and comparing and criticising bedding effects. We have it also planted out in the shadiest and dampest part of a rockery, in a cool fernery, and also in a shady part of the fernery out-of-doors. It increases fast, and may, if desirable, be parted annually in spring when it begins to grow; but to make a fine specimen it should not be parted, but be shifted to a larger and larger pot every year, and this should be done without breaking the ball when the plant is shifted; no, not even the crocks should be removed.

Another grand species is Equisetum telmateia, which is of more robust habit than the last, with regular whorls of branches, which differ from those of sylvaticum, that they do not branch again. This grows on dry sandy banks, and is tolerably common, especially in the southern parts of England. It grows finely in the rockery if planted in a shady spot, and though found wild in very dry positions, I have never found it succeed except in a damp position, unless assisted with frequent watering. Sandy peat is the best soil for it.

Another and most beautiful species is E. umbrosum. This is very distinct and very rare. The whorls of branches are rather crowded, and they all rise at a regular angle, and gracefully arch over at their ends. This grows in very shady places, and requires the same kind of cultivation.

Equisetum palustre is another exquisitely beautiful plant. By many this will be considered more beautiful than sylvaticum, for the slender branches divide and subdivide into the most hair-like ramifications; indeed, it looks as if constructed of hair, but in a manner that would be impossible to human fingers even if only in imitation of its beauty. This grows in bogs, and therefore when under cultivation must have a damp position and plenty of water.

I have also plants of E. fluviatile, which grows in water; E. hyemale, also a water plant; E. Mackaii, which loves moisture, and E. variegatum, which will grow well under almost any circumstances. But these four have no beauty. They are like rushes, tall, rigid, without branches, very pretty in a certain sense in their construction, but are likely to interest only such as are devoted to the study of these plants.