This is the hybrid between Equisetum fluviatile (Water Horsetail) and Equisetum palustre (Marsh Horsetail) both of which are quite common. It has the expected characteristics of both parents with a large central hollow and a few branches starting several nodes down. Stace suggests that it resembles a weak E. x litorale but the E x dycei we saw was not only much smaller (10 cm to 20 cm as opposed to 40 cm to 60 cm for E. x litorale) but the top, unbranched part of the plant was much longer with whorls of branches well formed in E x litorale.

This plant has not been as widely recorded as you would expect but this probably means it is hard to recognise rather than being rare. It is dotted about mostly in the north of Britain with a few sites in Ireland too.

Reservoir soil dump near Sunnyhurst Wood, Darwen 7th June 2007

Added on 24th June 2007, updated 2nd January 2009, updated 29th March 2010