Biology:Equisetum

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Equisetum (/ˌɛkwɪˈstəm/; horsetail) is the only living genus in Equisetaceae, a family of vascular plants that reproduce by spores rather than seeds.[1]

Equisetum is a "living fossil", the only living genus of the entire subclass Equisetidae, which for over 100 million years was much more diverse and dominated the understorey of late Paleozoic forests. Some equisetids were large trees reaching to 30 m (98 ft) tall.[2] The genus Calamites of the family Calamitaceae, for example, is abundant in coal deposits from the Carboniferous period. The pattern of spacing of nodes in horsetails, wherein those toward the apex of the shoot are increasingly close together, is said to have inspired John Napier to invent logarithms.[3] Modern horsetails first appeared during the Jurassic period.

A superficially similar but entirely unrelated flowering plant genus, mare's tail (Hippuris), is occasionally referred to as "horsetail", and adding to confusion, the name "mare's tail" is sometimes applied to Equisetum.[4]

Etymology

The name "horsetail", often used for the entire group, arose because the branched species somewhat resemble a horse's tail. Similarly, the scientific name Equisetum is derived from the Latin equus ('horse') + seta ('bristle').[5]

Other names include candock for branching species, puzzlegrass, and snake grass or scouring-rush for unbranched or sparsely branched species. The latter name refers to the rush-like appearance of the plants and to the fact that the stems are coated with abrasive silicates, making them useful for scouring (cleaning) metal items such as cooking pots or drinking mugs, particularly those made of tin.[6] Equisetum hyemale, rough horsetail, is still boiled and then dried in Japan to be used for the final polishing process on woodcraft to produce a smooth finish.[7] In German, the corresponding name is Zinnkraut ('tin-herb') or Schachtelhalm ('nesting stalk'). In Spanish-speaking countries, these plants are known as cola de caballo ('horsetail').

Description

Equisetum arvense (field horsetail)

Equisetum leaves are greatly reduced and usually non-photosynthetic. They contain a single, non-branching vascular trace, which is the defining feature of microphylls. However, it has recently been recognised that horsetail microphylls are probably not ancestral as in lycophytes (clubmosses and relatives), but rather derived adaptations, evolved by reduction of megaphylls.[8]

The leaves of horsetails are arranged in whorls fused into nodal sheaths. The stems are usually green and photosynthetic, and are distinctive in being hollow, jointed and ridged (with sometimes 3 but usually 6–40 ridges). There may or may not be whorls of branches at the nodes.[9] Unusually, the branches often emerge below the leaves in an internode, and grow from buds between their bases.

Vegetative stem:
B = branch in whorl
I = internode
L = leaves
N = node
Strobilus of Equisetum braunii, terminal on an unbranched stem
Microscopic view of Equisetum hyemale (rough horsetail) (2-1-0-1-2 is one millimetre with ​120th graduation).
The small white protuberances are accumulated silicates on cells.

Spores

The spores are borne under sporangiophores in strobili, cone-like structures at the tips of some of the stems. In many species the cone-bearing shoots are unbranched, and in some (e.g. E. arvense, field horsetail) they are non-photosynthetic, produced early in spring. In some other species (e.g. E. palustre, marsh horsetail) they are very similar to sterile shoots, photosynthetic and with whorls of branches.[10]: 12–15 

Horsetails are mostly homosporous, though in the field horsetail, smaller spores give rise to male prothalli. The spores have four elaters that act as moisture-sensitive springs, assisting spore dispersal through crawling and hopping motions after the sporangia have split open longitudinally.[11] They are photosynthetic and have a lifespan that is usually two weeks at most, but will germinate immediately under humid conditions and develop into a gametophyte.[12]

Cell walls

The crude cell extracts of all Equisetum species tested contain mixed-linkage glucan : xyloglucan endotransglucosylase (MXE) activity.[13] This is a novel enzyme and is not known to occur in any other plants. In addition, the cell walls of all Equisetum species tested contain mixed-linkage glucan (MLG), a polysaccharide which, until recently, was thought to be confined to the Poales.[14][15] The evolutionary distance between Equisetum and the Poales suggests that each evolved MLG independently. The presence of MXE activity in Equisetum suggests that they have evolved MLG along with some mechanism of cell wall modification. Non-Equisetum land plants tested lack detectable MXE activity. An observed negative correlation between XET activity and cell age led to the suggestion that XET is catalysing endotransglycosylation in controlled wall-loosening during cell expansion.[16] The lack of MXE in the Poales suggests that there it must play some other, currently unknown, role. Due to the correlation between MXE activity and cell age, MXE has been proposed to promote the cessation of cell expansion.

Taxonomy

Species

Currently, 18 species of Equisetum are accepted by Plants of the World Online.[17] The living members are divided into three distinct lineages, which are usually treated as subgenera. The name of the type subgenus, Equisetum, means "horse hair" in Latin, while the name of the other large subgenus, Hippochaete, means "horse hair" in Greek. Hybrids are common, but hybridization has only been recorded between members of the same subgenus.[18]

Two Equisetum plants are sold under the names Equisetum japonicum (barred horsetail) and Equisetum camtschatcense (Kamchatka horsetail). These are both types of E. hyemale var. hyemale, although they may also be listed as separate varieties of E. hyemale.[19]

Equisetum hyemale (rough horsetail) in Parc floral de Paris

Evolutionary history

The oldest remains of modern horsetails of the genus Equisetum first appear in the Early Jurassic, represented by Equisetum dimorphum from the Early Jurassic of Patagonia[20] and Equisetum laterale from the Early-Middle Jurassic of Australia.[21][22] Silicified remains of Equisetum thermale from the Late Jurassic of Argentina exhibit all the morphological characters of modern members of the genus.[23] The estimated split between Equisetum bogotense and all other living Equisetum is estimated to have occurred no later than the Early Jurassic.[22]

Subgenus Paramochaete

  • Template:Txil – Andean horsetail; upland South America up to Costa Rica; includes E. rinihuense, sometimes treated as a separate species. Previously included in subg. Equisetum, but Christenhusz et al. (2019)[24] transfer this here, as E. bogotense appears to be sister to all the remaining species in the genus.

Subgenus Equisetum

  • Template:Txil – field horsetail or common horsetail; circumboreal down through temperate zones
  • Template:Txil – northern giant horsetail, syn. E. telmateia subsp. braunii (Milde) Hauke.; west coast of North America
  • Template:Txil – Himalayan horsetail; Himalayan India and China and adjacent nations above about 450 metres (1,480 ft)
  • Template:Txil – water horsetail; circumboreal down through temperate zones
  • Template:Txil – marsh horsetail; circumboreal down through temperate zones
  • Template:Txil – shady horsetail, meadow horsetail, shade horsetail; circumboreal except for tundra down through cool temperate zones
  • Template:Txil – wood horsetail; circumboreal down through cool temperate zones, more restricted in east Asia
  • Template:Txil – great horsetail; Europe to Asia Minor and north Africa. The former North American subspecies Equisetum telmateia subsp. braunii (Milde) Hauke is now treated as a separate species Equisetum braunii Milde[24][17]
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Equisetum ramosissimum in the Czech Republic

Subgenus Hippochaete

  • Template:Txil – southern giant horsetail or giant horsetail; temperate to tropical South America and Central America north to southern Mexico
  • Template:Txil – rough horsetail; most of non-tropical Old World. The former North American subspecies Equisetum hyemale subsp. affine (Engelm.) A.A.Eat. is now treated as a separate species Equisetum praealtum Raf.[24][17]
  • Template:Txil – smooth horsetail, smooth scouringrush; western 3/4 of North America down into northwestern Mexico; also sometimes known as Equisetum kansanum
  • Template:Txil – Mexican giant horsetail; from central Mexico south to Peru
  • Template:Txil – scouringrush horsetail, syn. E. hyemale subsp. affine (Engelm.) A.A.Eat.; temperate North America
  • Template:Txil (including E. debile) – branched horsetail; Asia, Europe, Africa, southwest Pacific islands
  • Template:Txil – dwarf horsetail, dwarf scouringrush; northern (cool temperate) zones worldwide
  • Template:Txil – variegated horsetail, variegated scouringrush; northern (cool temperate) zones worldwide, except for northeasternmost Asia
  • Template:Txil – Atacama Desert giant horsetail; southern Peru, northern Chile

Unplaced to subgenus

Named hybrids

Equisetum × moorei (E. hyemale × E. ramosissiumum)

Hybrids between species in subgenus Equisetum

  • Equisetum × bowmanii C.N.Page (Equisetum sylvaticum × Equisetum telmateia)
  • Equisetum × dycei C.N.Page (Equisetum fluviatile × Equisetum palustre)
  • Equisetum × font-queri Rothm. (Equisetum palustre × Equisetum telmateia)
  • Equisetum × litorale Kühlew ex Rupr. (Equisetum arvense × Equisetum fluviatile)
  • Equisetum × mchaffieae C.N.Page (Equisetum fluviatile × Equisetum pratense)
  • Equisetum × mildeanum Rothm. (Equisetum pratense × Equisetum sylvaticum)
  • Equisetum × robertsii Dines (Equisetum arvense × Equisetum telmateia)
  • Equisetum × rothmaleri C.N.Page (Equisetum arvense × Equisetum palustre)
  • Equisetum × willmotii C.N.Page (Equisetum fluviatile × Equisetum telmateia)

Hybrids between species in subgenus Hippochaete

  • Equisetum × ferrissii Clute (Equisetum hyemale × Equisetum laevigatum)
  • Equisetum × moorei Newman (Equisetum hyemale × Equisetum ramosissimum)
  • Equisetum × nelsonii (A.A.Eaton) Schaffn. (Equisetum laevigatum × Equisetum variegatum)
  • Equisetum × schaffneri Milde (Equisetum giganteum × Equisetum myriochaetum)
  • Equisetum × trachyodon (A.Braun) W.D.J.Koch (Equisetum hyemale × Equisetum variegatum)

Phylogeny

Christenhusz et al. 2019[24] Nitta et al. 2022[25] and Fern Tree of life[26]
Equisetum
(Paramochaete)

E. bogotense

(Equisetum)

E. palustre

E. pratense

E. telmateia

E. braunii

E. sylvaticum

E. diffusum

E. fluviatile

E. arvense

(Hippochaete)

E. scirpoides

E. variegatum

E. ramosissimum

E. hyemale

E. praealtum

E. laevigatum

E. myriochaetum

E. giganteum

Equisetum
(Paramochaete)

E. bogotense

(Equisetum)

E. × fontqueri

E. telmateia

E. pratense

E. palustre

E. × dycei

E. fluviatile

E. arvense

E. × litorale

E. sylvaticum

(Hippochaete)

E. giganteum

E. × schaffneri

E. myriochaetum

E. × ferrissii

E. laevigatum

E. scirpoides

E. ramosissimum

E. variegatum

E. hyemale

E. × trachyodon

Distribution and ecology

The genus Equisetum as a whole, while concentrated in the non-tropical northern hemisphere, is near-cosmopolitan, being absent naturally only from Antarctica, Australia, New Zealand, and the islands of the Pacific Ocean. They are most common in northern Europe, with ten species (E. arvense, E. fluviatile, E. hyemale, E. palustre, E. pratense, E. ramosissimum, E. scirpoides, E. sylvaticum, E. telmateia, and E. variegatum); Great Britain has nine of these species, missing only E. scirpoides of the European list.[27][9] Northern North America (Canada and the northernmost United States), also has nine species (E. arvense, E. fluviatile, E. laevigatum, E. palustre, E. praealtum, E. pratense, E. scirpoides, E. sylvaticum, and E. variegatum). Only five (E. bogotense, E. giganteum, E. myriochaetum, E. ramosissimum, and E. xylochaetum) of the eighteen species are known to be native south of the Equator.

They are perennial plants, herbaceous and dying back in winter in most temperate species, or evergreen as most tropical species and the temperate species E. hyemale (rough horsetail), E. ramosissimum (branched horsetail), E. scirpoides (dwarf horsetail) and E. variegatum (variegated horsetail). They typically grow 20 cm–1.5 m (8 in–5 ft) tall, though the subtropical "giant horsetails" are recorded to grow as high as 5 m (16 ft) (E. giganteum, southern giant horsetail) or 8 m (26 ft) (E. myriochaetum, Mexican giant horsetail), and allegedly even more.[28]

One species, Equisetum fluviatile, is an emergent aquatic, rooted in water with shoots growing into the air. The stalks arise from rhizomes that are deep underground and difficult to dig out. Field horsetail (E. arvense) can be a nuisance weed, readily regrowing from the rhizome after being pulled out. It is unaffected by many herbicides designed to kill seed plants.[29] Since the stems have a waxy coat, the plant is resistant to contact weedkillers like glyphosate.[30] However, as E. arvense prefers an acid soil, lime may be used to assist in eradication efforts to bring the soil pH to 7 or 8.[31] Members of the genus have been declared noxious weeds in Australia and in the US state of Oregon.[32][33]

All the Equisetum are classed as "unwanted organisms" in New Zealand and are listed on the National Pest Plant Accord.[34]

Consumption

People have regularly consumed horsetails. The fertile stems bearing strobili of some species can be cooked and eaten like asparagus[35] (a dish called tsukushi (土筆) in Japan[36] ). Indigenous nations across Cascadia consume and use horsetails in a variety of ways, with the Squamish calling them sx̱ém'x̱em and the Lushootseed using gʷəɫik, or horsetail roots, for cedar root baskets.[37][38][39] The young plants are eaten cooked or raw, but considerable care must be taken.[40]

If eaten over a long enough period of time, some species of horsetail can be poisonous to grazing animals, including horses.[41] The toxicity appears to be due to thiaminase, which can cause thiamin (vitamin B1) deficiency.[40][42][43][44]

Equisetum species may have been a common food for herbivorous dinosaurs. With studies showing that horsetails are nutritionally of high quality, it is assumed that horsetails were an important component of herbivorous dinosaur diets.[45] Analysis of the scratch marks on hadrosaur teeth is consistent with grazing on hard plants like horsetails.[46]

Folk medicine and safety concerns

Extracts and other preparations of E. arvense have served as herbal remedies, with records dating over centuries.[40][42][47] In 2009, the European Food Safety Authority concluded there was no evidence for the supposed health effects of E. arvense, such as for invigoration, weight control, skincare, hair health or bone health.[48] As of 2018, there is insufficient scientific evidence for its effectiveness as a medicine to treat any human condition.[40][47][48]

E. arvense contains thiaminase, which metabolizes the B vitamin, thiamine, potentially causing thiamine deficiency and associated liver damage, if taken chronically.[40][42] Horsetail might produce a diuretic effect.[40][42] Further, its safety for oral consumption has not been sufficiently evaluated and it may be toxic, especially to children and pregnant women.[40]

See also

References

  1. Dunmire, John R.; Williamson, Joseph F. (1995). "EQUISETUM hyemale". in Brenzel, Kathleen N.. Western Garden Book. Menlo Park, CA: Sunset. pp. 274, 606. ISBN 0376038500. https://archive.org/details/sunsetwesterngar00suns. 
  2. "An Introduction to the Genus Equisetum and the Class Sphenopsida as a whole". Florida International University. http://www.fiu.edu/~chusb001/GiantEquisetum/Intro_Equisetum.html. 
  3. Sacks, Oliver (25 July 2011). "Hunting Horsetails". The New Yorker (11 August 2011). https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/08/01/hunting-horsetails. 
  4. Equisetum (3rd ed.), Oxford University Press, September 2005, http://oed.com/search?searchType=dictionary&q=Equisetum  (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  5. Daniel F. Austin (2004). Florida Ethnobotany (illustrated ed.). CRC Press. p. 283. ISBN 9780203491881. 
  6. Law C, Exley C. New insight into silica deposition in horsetail (Equisetum arvense). BMC Plant Biology volume 11, Article number: 112 (2011) https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2229-11-112
  7. Husby, C (2013). "Biology and functional ecology of Equisetum with emphasis on the giant horsetails". Botanical Review 79 (2): 147–177. doi:10.1007/s12229-012-9113-4. Bibcode2013BotRv..79..147H. 
  8. Rutishauser, R (November 1999). "Polymerous leaf whorls in vascular plants: Developmental morphology and fuzziness of organ identities". International Journal of Plant Sciences 160 (S6): S81–S103. doi:10.1086/314221. PMID 10572024. Bibcode1999IJPlS.160S..81R. 
  9. 9.0 9.1 Streeter D, Hart-Davies C, Hardcastle A, Cole F, Harper L. 2009. Collins Flower Guide. Harper Collins ISBN 9-78-000718389-0
  10. Stace, C. A. (2019). New Flora of the British Isles (Fourth ed.). Middlewood Green, Suffolk, U.K.: C & M Floristics. ISBN 978-1-5272-2630-2. 
  11. Gill, Victoria (11 September 2013). "Horsetail plant spores use 'legs' to walk and jump". BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-24025365. 
  12. Zhao, Q.; Gao, J.; Suo, J.; Chen, S.; Wang, T.; Dai, S. (2015). "Cytological and proteomic analyses of horsetail (Equisetum arvense L.) spore germination". Frontiers in Plant Science 6: 441. doi:10.3389/fpls.2015.00441. PMID 26136760. Bibcode2015FrPS....6..441Z. 
  13. Fry, S. C.; Mohler, K. E.; Nesselrode, B. H. W. A.; Frankov, L. (2008). "Mixed-linkage -glucan:xyloglucan endotransglucosylase, a novel wall-remodelling enzyme from Equisetum (horsetails) and charophytic algae". The Plant Journal 55 (2): 240–252. doi:10.1111/j.1365-313X.2008.03504.x. PMID 18397375. 
  14. Fry, Stephen C.; Nesselrode, Bertram H. W. A.; Miller, Janice G.; Mewburn, Ben R. (2008). "Mixed-linkage (1→3,1→4)-β-d-glucan is a major hemicellulose of Equisetum (horsetail) cell walls". New Phytologist 179 (1): 104–15. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8137.2008.02435.x. PMID 18393951. Bibcode2008NewPh.179..104F. 
  15. Sørensen, Iben; Pettolino, Filomena A.; Wilson, Sarah M.; Doblin, Monika S.; Johansen, Bo; Bacic, Antony; Willats, William G. T. (2008). "Mixed-linkage (1→3),(1→4)-β-d-glucan is not unique to the Poales and is an abundant component of Equisetum arvense cell walls". The Plant Journal 54 (3): 510–21. doi:10.1111/j.1365-313X.2008.03453.x. PMID 18284587. 
  16. Simmons, Thomas J.; Fry, Stephen C. (2017). "Bonds broken & formed during the mixed-linkage glucan: xyloglucan endotransglucosylase reaction catalysed by Equisetum hetero-trans-β-glucanase". Biochemical Journal 474 (7): 1055–1070. doi:10.1042/BCJ20160935. PMID 28108640. PMC 5341106. http://www.biochemj.org/content/474/7/1055. Retrieved 2019-07-17. 
  17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named POWO
  18. Pigott, Anthony (4 October 2001). "Summary of Equisetum Taxonomy". http://www.btinternet.com/~pigott/equisetum/taxonsum.html. 
  19. Trounce, Bob; Hanson, Cindy; Lloyd, Sandy; Iaconis, Linda; Thorp, John (2003) (PDF). Horsetails - Equisetum species. Atlas of Living Australia, Centre for Invasive Species Solutions. ISBN 1-920932-24-0. https://profiles.ala.org.au/opus/weeds-australia/profile/Equisetum%20spp.. Retrieved 2021-08-26. 
  20. Elgorriaga, Andrés; Escapa, Ignacio H.; Bomfleur, Benjamin; Cúneo, Rubén; Ottone, Eduardo G. (February 2015). "Reconstruction and Phylogenetic Significance of a New Equisetum Linnaeus Species from the Lower Jurassic of Cerro Bayo (Chubut Province, Argentina)" (in en). Ameghiniana 52 (1): 135–152. doi:10.5710/AMGH.15.09.2014.2758. ISSN 0002-7014. Bibcode2015Amegh..52..135E. http://www.bioone.org/doi/10.5710/AMGH.15.09.2014.2758. 
  21. Gould, R. E. 1968. Morphology of Equisetum laterale Phillips, 1829, and E. bryanii sp. nov. from the Mesozoic of south‐eastern Queensland. Australian Journal of Botany 16: 153–176.
  22. 22.0 22.1 Elgorriaga, Andrés; Escapa, Ignacio H.; Rothwell, Gar W.; Tomescu, Alexandru M. F.; Rubén Cúneo, N. (August 2018). "Origin of Equisetum : Evolution of horsetails (Equisetales) within the major euphyllophyte clade Sphenopsida" (in en). American Journal of Botany 105 (8): 1286–1303. doi:10.1002/ajb2.1125. PMID 30025163. 
  23. Channing, Alan; Zamuner, Alba; Edwards, Dianne; Guido, Diego (2011). "Equisetum thermale sp. nov. (Equisetales) from the Jurassic San Agustín hot spring deposit, Patagonia: Anatomy, paleoecology, and inferred paleoecophysiology" (in en). American Journal of Botany 98 (4): 680–697. doi:10.3732/ajb.1000211. ISSN 1537-2197. PMID 21613167. Bibcode2011AmJB...98..680C. 
  24. 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 Christenhusz, Maarten J M; Bangiolo, Lois; Chase, Mark W; Fay, Michael F; Husby, Chad; Witkus, Marika; Viruel, Juan (April 2019). "Phylogenetics, classification and typification of extant horsetails (Equisetum, Equisetaceae)". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 189 (4): 311–352. doi:10.1093/botlinnean/boz002. 
  25. Nitta, Joel H.Expression error: Unrecognized word "et". (2022). "An Open and Continuously Updated Fern Tree of Life". Frontiers in Plant Science 13. doi:10.3389/fpls.2022.909768. PMID 36092417. Bibcode2022FrPS...1309768N. 
  26. "Tree viewer: interactive visualization of FTOL". 2024. https://fernphy.github.io/viewer.html. 
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  28. Husby, Chad E. (2003). "How large are the giant horsetails?". http://www.fiu.edu/~chusb001/GiantEquisetum/HowLarge.html. 
  29. Altland, James (2003). "Horsetail - 'Equisetum arvense'". https://oregonstate.edu/dept/nursery-weeds/weedspeciespage/horsetail/Equisetum_arvense_horsetail.html. 
  30. "Control Horse or Mare's Tail - Equisetum Arvense". 2016. https://www.allotment-garden.org/gardening-information/weed-control/control-horse-mares-tail-equisetum-arvense/. 
  31. Kress, Henriette (7 April 2005). "Getting rid of horsetail". https://www.henriettes-herb.com/blog/getting-rid-horsetail.html. 
  32. William Thomas Parsons; Eric George Cuthbertson (2001). Noxious weeds of Australia. CSIRO Publishing. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-643-06514-7. https://books.google.com/books?id=sRCrNAQQrpwC&q=Equisetum%20australia&pg=PA14. 
  33. "Equisetum telmateia Ehrh. giant horsetail". USDA. https://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=EQTE. 
  34. "National Pest Plant Accord". 2001. http://www.rnzih.org.nz/pages/accord.pdf. 
  35. "Equisetum (PFAF Plant Database)". https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Equisetum. 
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  41. Israelsen, Clark E.; McKendrick, Scott S.; Bagley, Clell V. (2010). Poisonous Plants and Equine (Revised ed.). Logan, UT: Utah State University. p. 6. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1117&context=extension_curall. 
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  43. "The antithiamine action of Equisetum". Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 120 (903): 375–8. June 1952. PMID 14927511. 
  44. Fabre, B; Geay, B.; Beaufils, P. (1993). "Thiaminase activity in Equisetum arvense and its extracts.". Plant Med Phytother 26: 190–7. 
  45. "How Did Huge Dinosaurs Find Enough Food? Did Bacteria Aid Their Digestion?". 12 February 2018. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080206105443.htm. 
  46. Williams, Vincent S.; Barrett, Paul M.; Purnell, Mark A. (2009), "Quantitative analysis of dental microwear in hadrosaurid dinosaurs, and the implications for hypotheses of jaw mechanics and feeding", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 106 (27): 11194–11199, doi:10.1073/pnas.0812631106, PMID 19564603, Bibcode2009PNAS..10611194W 
  47. 47.0 47.1 Dragos, D; Gilca, M; Gaman, L; Vlad, A; Iosif, L; Stoian, I; Lupescu, O (2017). "Phytomedicine in Joint Disorders". Nutrients 9 (1): 70. doi:10.3390/nu9010070. PMID 28275210. 
  48. 48.0 48.1 "Scientific opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to Equisetum arvense L. and invigoration of the body (ID 2437), maintenance of skin (ID 2438), maintenance of hair (ID 2438), maintenance of bone (ID 2439), and maintenance or achievement of a normal body weight (ID 2783) pursuant to Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006". EFSA Journal (European Food Safety Authority) 7 (10): 1289. 2009. doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2009.1289. 

Further reading

Template:Fern classification Wikidata ☰ Q28114 entry