Horsetails look very similar but this one is easily differentiated from the others in the British Isles by sheer size. It can be over 1 metre tall with multiple single branches. I see this mostly in woodland areas or on shady banks and verges.

E. telmateia is common all over England, Wales and Ireland but records quickly diminish north of the Southern Uplands such that it is hardly found at all in the central and northern Highlands of Scotland. It is however found on some of the inner Hebrides in good numbers.

Valley Forge Woods, North Yorkshire 11th June 2005

Added on 14th June 2005, updated 1st January 2009, updated 29th March 2010