_Equisetum maximum._ In this case the specific name, of course, means great, and has reference to the fact that the species is the largest of all the kinds. In some old books this species is given as _E. Telmateia_ and _E. fluvialis_. The Great Horsetail. [Illustration: Fertile cones of Equisetum maximum.] This is by far the most striking of all our native Horsetails. As a rule the plant grows in a damp situation, and it then assumes handsome proportions. The fertile stems appear on the scene about April, and these do not as a rule exceed a foot in height. They are very succulent, and have loose sheaths which have about thirty or forty teeth. The sheaths are green at the lower, and brown at the upper part, being distinctly marked with lines. The fertile cones are three or four inches long and possess a very large number of scales. The barren stems are remarkable for their erect growth, and in a fine specimen these may be four or five feet in height. The stem bears numerous whorls of branches, and these branches may show yet further divisions. As a rule each whorl has thirty or forty branches apiece. On the upper part of the stem the whorls are very close together, but they are more widely separated at the lower portion. The main stems, which taper towards the apex, are marked with lines, and at intervals are enclosed in sheaths; these have long teeth and fit the stem very closely. The branches are rough to the touch, and have sheaths which end in four or five teeth; each tooth in this case is prolonged into a bristle which has two toothed ribs. This is a feature by means of which it is always possible to distinguish the Great Horsetail from any other species. Now and again stems have been found which, whilst bearing fertile cones, at the same time branch in the manner to be observed in the case of the barren stems. The Great Horsetail is widely distributed and is sometimes very abundant, though it is not so common as some of the other species of _Equisetum_. _Equisetum pratense._ In this case the specific name is a Latin word which means “growing in a meadow.” In some books this plant is known as _E. umbrosum_. The Shade or Blunt-topped Horsetail.