Giant horsetails are usually living species of horsetail that grow to very large sizes, more than 1.5 meters (5 ft).
The following species are commonly known as "giant horsetails":
- Equisetum giganteum (Southern Giant Horsetail, from Latin America)
- Equisetum telmateia (Northern Giant Horsetail, from North America)
- Equisetum myriochaetum (Mexican Giant Horsetail, from Mexico)
In addition, any giant member of the Equisetopsida (horsetails and their prehistoric relatives) is liable to be called "giant horsetail" even though they are not true horsetails. Most often, the term "giant horsetail" in this somewhat inaccurate sense refers to Paleozoic Calamitaceae; in the Mesozoic, the term usually refers to the Equisetites assemblage.
Famous quotes containing the word giant:
“The sense of death is most in apprehension,
And the poor beetle that we tread upon
In corporal sufferance finds a pang as great
As when a giant dies.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)