Horsetail Stems

Horsetail Stems

The stems of horsetails are cylindrical and have joints at intervals. You might think that the thin green branches are leaves but in fact the leaves are little scales with pointed tips that hug the stem at the point where a whorl of branches grows out. This picture shows part of the stem of a horsetail with a whorl of branches growing out from each joint or node on the stem. [CH] {FG}