Content
- The difference between horsetail and marsh horsetail
- Marsh horsetail is poisonous
- How can marsh horsetail be differentiated from horsetail?
- Further distinguishing features
- An old trick helps!
- Tips
The spores of the poisonous marsh-box herb are rather green
The difference between horsetail and marsh horsetail
Horsetail, also called field horsetail, and marsh horsetail look very similar at first sight. This similarity is not without danger, because in contrast to the horsetail marsh horsetail is poisonous. What is the difference between the two horsetail species?
Marsh horsetail is poisonous
Swamp horsetail is poisonous in all its parts, primarily for grazing animals, but even people can experience serious poisoning when they eat the herb. Take care when collecting.
Marsh horsetail contains two toxins, namely Equisetin and Palustrin.
Horsetail, however, is non-toxic and can even be eaten.
How can marsh horsetail be differentiated from horsetail?
As the name suggests, marsh horsetail grows in swampy locations. These should be avoided if you want to pick horsetail. On fields and meadows almost only horsetail grows.
Horsetail does not form flowers but multiplies via spores, which mature in so-called sporangia. The poisonous marsh horsetail are green, whereas the horsetail is brown.
At the field horsetail, the spores drift out of the ground in front of the characteristic green leaves. When they grow, the sprouts are gone again. If sprout shoots and green shoots occur at the same time, it is marsh horsetail.
Further distinguishing features
When the horsetail bears brown cones on the upper sprouts, they are poisonous varieties.
In the case of horsetail, the sprouts are long while short at the marsh horsetail. In addition, field horsetail has thicker stems. They are wider than three millimeters, while the stems of the marsh horsetail are much narrower.
An old trick helps!
There is a little trick that will help you to determine if you have nontoxic horsetail or toxic marsh horsetail in front of you.
Squeeze a stalk of the collected herb, including the side shoots, and tear it apart above the first stem sheath.
The end of the horsetail now looks like a broom with the same length of fine hair. In contrast, the marsh hogweed shows a longer piece in the middle with short side parts.
Tips
Like the marsh horsetail, other species of horsetail include winter horsetail, Japanese horsetail and pond horsetail. These species should therefore be kept with care in the garden.