Horsetail Cones

Horsetail Cones

Fertile stems of Horsetails have spore-bearing cones (strobili) at their tips. A strobilus is covered by closely-fitting hexagonal scales which separate when the cone lengthens to release the ripe spores. The shoots that produce cones and spores may look quite different from the vegetative part of the plant and may appear at a different time of year. This picture shows a section through the spore-filled cone of a Horsetail. [CH] {FG}