It's bad news when these appear in your garden. This is the spore-producing shoot of field horsetail Equisetum arvense, about to liberate thousands of spores which have a unique adaptation to aerial invasion, which you can see by clicking here.
Once it's established this plant is well-nigh impossible to eradicate. Its underground stems (known as 'devil's guts') run deep and fragment easily, regenerating new plants just when you think you've dig it all out. Still, it could be worse; back in the Carboniferous, 300 million years ago, when the coal measures were laid down, these grew 10 metres tall.
Lovely looking though.
ReplyDeleteDon't have that here, to my knowledge, but I was sad to see that a perrenial bed that I dug and dug and DUG yellow dock out of last year has a good crop beginning again this year... I kick myself for not spotting the first one that went to seed!!
ReplyDeleteLuckily, I have never come across this one. Your photo of the bee at close quarters is amazing!
ReplyDeleteThey look like a piece of sculpture, don't they Keith?
ReplyDeleteHi Valerianna, I have the same problem with buttercups. There's an old saying that goes something like 'one year's seeding means seven years weeding'.
ReplyDeleteThanks lotusleaf!
ReplyDeleteCan't help admiring the beauty of the beast.
ReplyDeleteI think weeding is less painful when the weeds are beautiful John!
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