Equisetum variegatumSchleich. ex F.Weber & D.Mohr

northern scouring-rushvariegated horsetailvariegated scouringrush

WFO wfo-0001108927 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Equisetum variegatum, photographed by F Quiec
fig. a F Quiec, CC BY-SA 4.0 / 2022-06-10 / obs. 205700121
Equisetum variegatum, photographed by Bruce Cook
fig. b Bruce Cook, CC0 1.0 / obs. 195462238
Equisetum variegatum, photographed by Bruce Cook
fig. c Bruce Cook, CC0 1.0 / obs. 186257895
Equisetum variegatum, photographed by Eleftherios Katsillis
fig. d Eleftherios Katsillis, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 164542789
Equisetum variegatum, photographed by Henry "Nick" Robertson
fig. e Henry "Nick" Robertson, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 164135573
Equisetum variegatum, photographed by Forest Botial-Jarvis
fig. f Forest Botial-Jarvis, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 159950723
Equisetum variegatum, photographed by Braden J. Judson
fig. g Braden J. Judson, CC0 1.0 / obs. 149098437
Equisetum variegatum, photographed by J Straka
fig. h J Straka, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 171195922

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 92 botanical countries

Regions where Equisetum variegatum is native: Altay, Amur, Buryatiya, China South-Central, Chita, Inner Mongolia, Irkutsk, Japan, Kamchatka, Khabarovsk, Krasnoyarsk, Kuril Is., Magadan, Manchuria, Mongolia, North Caucasus, Primorye, Sakhalin, Transcaucasus, Türkiye, Tuva, West Siberia, Xinjiang, Yakutiya, Austria, Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, Central European Russia, Corse, Czechia-Slovakia, Denmark, East European Russia, Finland, Føroyar, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, North European Russia, Norway, NW. Balkan Pen., Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, Alaska, Alberta, Aleutian Is., British Columbia, Colorado, Connecticut, Greenland, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Labrador, Maine, Manitoba, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Newfoundland, North Dakota, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ohio, Ontario, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Québec, Saskatchewan, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Yukon AltayAmurBuryatiyaChina South-CentralChitaInner MongoliaIrkutskJapanKamchatkaKhabarovskKrasnoyarskMagadanManchuriaMongoliaNorth CaucasusPrimoryeSakhalinTranscaucasusTürkiyeTuvaWest SiberiaXinjiangYakutiyaAustriaBaltic StatesBelarusBelgiumCentral European RussiaCorseCzechia-SlovakiaDenmarkEast European RussiaFinlandFranceGermanyGreeceHungaryIcelandIrelandItalyNetherlandsNorth European RussiaNorwayNW. Balkan Pen.PolandRomaniaSpainSwedenSwitzerlandUkraineAlaskaAlbertaBritish ColumbiaColoradoConnecticutGreenlandIdahoIllinoisIndianaLabradorMaineManitobaMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMontanaNew BrunswickNew HampshireNew JerseyNew YorkNewfoundlandNorth DakotaNorthwest TerritoriesNova ScotiaNunavutOhioOntarioOregonPennsylvaniaQuébecSaskatchewanSouth DakotaUtahVermontWashingtonWisconsinWyomingYukon Føroyar
Native distribution of Equisetum variegatum, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Alaska ASK NORTHERN AMERICA
Alberta ABT
Aleutian Is. ALU
British Columbia BRC
Colorado COL
Connecticut CNT
Greenland GNL
Idaho IDA
Illinois ILL
Indiana INI
Labrador LAB
Maine MAI
Manitoba MAN
Massachusetts MAS
Michigan MIC
Minnesota MIN
Montana MNT
New Brunswick NBR
New Hampshire NWH
New Jersey NWJ
New York NWY
Newfoundland NFL
North Dakota NDA
Northwest Territories NWT
Nova Scotia NSC
Nunavut NUN
Ohio OHI
Ontario ONT
Oregon ORE
Pennsylvania PEN
Québec QUE
Saskatchewan SAS
South Dakota SDA
Utah UTA
Vermont VER
Washington WAS
Wisconsin WIS
Wyoming WYO
Yukon YUK
Austria AUT EUROPE
Baltic States BLT
Belarus BLR
Belgium BGM
Central European Russia RUC
Corse COR
Czechia-Slovakia CZE
Denmark DEN
East European Russia RUE
Finland FIN
Føroyar FOR
France FRA
Germany GER
Great Britain GRB
Greece GRC
Hungary HUN
Iceland ICE
Ireland IRE
Italy ITA
Netherlands NET
North European Russia RUN
Norway NOR
NW. Balkan Pen. YUG
Poland POL
Romania ROM
Spain SPA
Sweden SWE
Switzerland SWI
Ukraine UKR
Altay ALT ASIA-TEMPERATE
Amur AMU
Buryatiya BRY
China South-Central CHC
Chita CTA
Inner Mongolia CHI
Irkutsk IRK
Japan JAP
Kamchatka KAM
Khabarovsk KHA
Krasnoyarsk KRA
Kuril Is. KUR
Magadan MAG
Manchuria CHM
Mongolia MON
North Caucasus NCS
Primorye PRM
Sakhalin SAK
Transcaucasus TCS
Türkiye TUR
Tuva TVA
West Siberia WSB
Xinjiang CHX
Yakutiya YAK

Not drawn on the map: Kuril Is., Great Britain, Aleutian Is.. We hold no public-domain boundary for these regions, so they are listed rather than guessed at.

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Where it actually grows measured, from 1,981 observations

Condition 5th percentile Median 95th percentile
Coldest month, mean daily low -25.0 °C -11.1 °C -1.5 °C
Warmest month, mean daily high 13.3 °C 23.1 °C 26.3 °C
Annual rainfall 433 mm 956 mm 1,961 mm
Rainfall in the driest quarter 34 mm 178 mm 345 mm

It is found where winters are severely cold. This is not care advice and it is not a forecast. It is a measurement: we sampled the climate at every one of the 1,981 research-grade observations of Equisetum variegatum that carry a coordinate, and this is the range those places actually span. The 5th and 95th percentiles are used rather than the minimum and maximum, because a single cultivated specimen in a heated conservatory should not widen a tropical plant's range to the Arctic.

This is not a hardiness zone. A USDA zone is the average annual extreme minimum temperature. The figure above is the mean daily minimum of the coldest month, which is a different quantity and is typically far warmer. Reading one as the other would place a plant several zones too warm, so we do not publish a hardiness zone, because we do not have one.

Also published as 58 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Equisetum alaskanum (A.A.Eaton) J.P.Anderson
  • Equisetum arenarium Newman
  • Equisetum bauhinii Gmel.
  • Equisetum hyemale subsp. variegatum (Schleich. ex F.Weber & D.Mohr) A.Braun
  • Equisetum hyemale subsp. wilsonii (Newman) T.Moore & More
  • Equisetum hyemale var. variegatum (Schleich. ex f. Weber & D.Mohr) Döll
  • Equisetum hyemale var. variegatum (Schleich. ex f. Weber & D.Mohr) Newman
  • Equisetum multiforme var. variegatum (Schleich. ex F.Weber & D.Mohr) Vaucher
  • Equisetum reptans var. variegatum (Schleich. ex F.Weber & D.Mohr) Wahlenb.
  • Equisetum serotinum Schur
  • Equisetum variegatum Schleich.
  • Equisetum variegatum f. alpestre (Milde) Luerss.
  • Equisetum variegatum f. anceps (Milde) M.Broun
  • Equisetum variegatum f. anceps (Milde) Luerss.
  • Equisetum variegatum f. arenarium (Milde) Luerss.
  • Equisetum variegatum f. caespitosum (Döll) E.Baumann
  • Equisetum variegatum f. caespitosum (Döll) Hegi
  • Equisetum variegatum f. caespitosum (Döll) Luerss.
  • Equisetum variegatum f. elatum (Rabenh.) Luerss.
  • Equisetum variegatum f. heufleri (Milde) Luerss.
  • Equisetum variegatum f. pallidum Milde
  • Equisetum variegatum f. polystachyum Rosend.
  • Equisetum variegatum f. ramosissimum Rosend.
  • Equisetum variegatum f. tortuosum Rosend.

and 34 more.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.