Great horsetail or Field horsetail: how to tell them apart?
Great horsetail and Field horsetail look alike and are often mixed up. Here is how to tell them apart, feature by feature, with their photos and the details to look for.
⚡ The quick answer
Great horsetail
Equisetum telmateia
Field horsetail
Equisetum arvense
Great horsetail is markedly taller and sturdier, with thicker, more densely branched dark green sterile stems, which die back in autumn like those of field horsetail (both being deciduous), whereas field horsetail is smaller and more slender.
🍃 Leaves
Reduced to teeth at each node; sterile stems much branched in dense whorls
Reduced to tiny teeth at each node; bright green sterile stems much branched in whorls
🌸 Flowers
No flowers: whitish, fleshy spore-bearing cone appearing early in spring, before the green stems
No flowers: a brownish spore-bearing cone appears in spring before the green stems
🍎 Fruits
No fruits — spores released by the early spore-bearing cone
No fruits — spores released by the early spore-bearing cone
🪵 Bark
Hollow, jointed stems, the tallest horsetails in Europe
Hollow, jointed stems, siliceous and rough to the touch
📏 Size
50 cm to 1.5 m
20 to 50 cm
🗺️ Habitat
Springs, seepage ditches, damp clay soils
Fields, banks, sandy and damp ground
⚠️ Toxicity
Toxic to horses in large quantities (thiaminase, destroying vitamin B1); traditional human use as a herbal tea at moderate doses
Toxic to horses in large quantities (thiaminase, destroying vitamin B1); traditional human use as a herbal tea at moderate doses
🔎 And from the Field horsetail side
The great horsetail is markedly taller and sturdier, with dark green stems persisting through winter, whereas the field horsetail is smaller, with slender sterile stems with regular branching.
🌿 Go further
Want to practise spotting these details on real photos? Floraneo offers profiles and quizzes for dozens of look-alike species.
ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.