Equisetum palustre; As its name suggests the Marsh Horsetail grows in bogs and marshlands. The main branch has only very short side branches. The terminal sporangial cone grows on green shoots. Next to the marsh horsetail some other similar horsetails grow on Iceland. To tell them apart here is a simple key:
- E. palustre: marsh horsetail: short side branches, terminal cones not pointed, about 13 dental points on stem-sheaths.
- E. fluviatile: water horsetail: no side branches, terminal cones not pointed, about 14 dental points on stem-sheaths.
- E. variegatum: variegated horsetail: no side branches, terminal cones pointed, about 5-8 dental points on stem-sheaths
- E. hyemale: rough horsetail: no side branches, about 20 dental points on stem-sheath - but very tiny: the sheaths seems almost round. Much thicker stems than any other horsetail on Iceland