Herbs with erect, distinctly jointed, fluted, silicaceous stems which arise from an underground rhizome. Leaves are reduced to a whorl of fused scales. Strobili terminal, borne either on ordinary green stems or on specialized fertile stems which lack chlorophyll. Strobili consisting of a series of peltate sporangia scales attached to a central axis. Horsetails are part of the divison Equisetophyta and are represented by a single genus (Equisetum). Fossil evidence suggests that the group probably was once much more extensive and diverse. The group probably reached its height during the Upper Carboniferous.
Genera found in Manitoba:
Equisetum