horsetail

[ hawrs-teyl ]

noun

1. Also called scouring rush. any nonflowering plant of the genus Equisetum, having hollow, jointed stems.
2. a horse's tail formerly used as a Turkish military standard or as an ensign of a pasha, the number of tails increasing with the rank.

horsetail

/ ˈhɔːsˌteɪl /

noun

1. any tracheophyte plant of the genus Equisetum , having jointed stems with whorls of small dark toothlike leaves and producing spores within conelike structures at the tips of the stems: phylum Sphenophyta
2. a stylized horse's tail formerly used as the emblem of a pasha, the number of tails increasing with rank

horsetail

/ hôrs′tāl′ /

1. A member of a genus, Equisetum, of seedless vascular plants having a jointed hollow stem and narrow, sometimes much reduced leaves. Plants extremely similar to modern horsetails are known from fossils 300 million years old. The horsetails are the last surviving members of the phylum Sphenophyta, which dominated the forests of the Devonian and Carboniferous periods.

Word History and Origins

Origin of horsetail¹

First recorded in 1350–1400, horsetail is from Middle English horse tayle. See horse, tail ¹

Example Sentences

The animal belongs to a herd of hefty herbivores who spend their days lumbering through an open landscape of conifers and gingkos, horsetails and monkey puzzle trees.

From Los Angeles Times

Fire is bad for all animals, but the first plants that come back, benefiting from openings in the tree canopy, are really good food for bears: huckleberry, cow parsnip and horsetail, to name a few.

From Seattle Times

The following spring, the horsetail came back stronger than ever.

From Seattle Times

It’s fast and energetic; dancers hold pieces of horsetail, which they use to cut and slice through space with sharp, unified fervor.

From New York Times

The first plants to grow back, including huckleberry, cow parsnip and horsetail, are often plants that grizzlies like to eat.

From Seattle Times