This is a hybrid between Equisetum telmateia (Great Horsetail) and Equisetum palustre (Marsh Horsetail). As expected it has characters of both parents but as one of them is E. telmateia some of the shoots can be quite tall and bushy. Occasionally there large cones produced but the spores are thought to be sterile.

This is not a widely recorded hybrid even though both parents are common and will grow near each other. The largest number of known sites are in Lancashire where this one was found. Other than that there is one known site in Wales, a couple in Scotland and two in Ireland.

Irwell Vale, Lancashire, 7th June 2007

Added on 25th June 2007, updated 1st January 2009, updated 29th March 2010