| Mother Nature's Brillo Pad |
| Location: East side of tree
"island" along east side of main entrance drive |
| The plants growing in this large
colony are Scouring Rushes, Equisetum
hyemale. They belong to the Equisetaceae, the Horsetail
Family. This species of Equisetum
is unbranched and remains green throughout the Winter. Thus, the
name "hyemale" which means "of
Winter." But where does it get the name Scouring Rush? First, "rush" because the plants superficially resemble the true rushes which grow in similarly wet places and also have round, hollow stems. The "leaves" of Equisetum are fused together forming ashey grey, papery bands at the joints of their ridged and grooved stems. They never function as leaves; instead, the stems make food for the plant by photosynthesis. But perhaps the most interesting is the "scouring" part of the name. These plants grow profusely in wet, sandy soil along stream banks and in ditches along railroads and roads. The plants absorb silica from the soil which is then redeposited in the cell walls as "sand." If you cook some eggs in an iron skillet on your next camping trip then discover that you forgot to bring your Brillo pad, just gather some of these stems, crush them into a ball, and scour your skillet. The early pioneers and Native Americans knew of this property of Equisetum. It has been used for centuries to polish metal objects and wood. The Horsetails are very ancient plants that covered vast areas of Ohio during the Mississippian and Pennsylvanian Periods more than 300 million years ago. Those ancient plants were as large as trees and grew in swamps. When they died, they fell into the swamps where they decayed very slowly and were eventually turned into coal. Their fossils are very common in the coal deposits of Ohio. One of the most common of these fossils is Calamites. The Horsetails are related to the ferns and do not produce flowers, fruits, or seeds. They reproduce by spores which are produced in a cone-like structure on the tips of the stems. Can you find any of the cones? The spores tumble over the ground as four arm-like straps twist in response to changes in humidity. -- David Kramer
|
| Return
to top of Nature Sign List |
Return to D.
Kramer Web Site |