"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Brian wrote:
Sorry to bring this up again but I'm sure there was a major mistake made
in
identification and suggested eradication.
Surely everyone was meaning 'Horsetail' and not Mare's tail?
Only Horsetail has the silica- impregnated stems [pot scourers] and
lack
flowers~closer to ferns.
Mare's-tail [Hippuridaceae] does have true [diminutive] flowers and
produces tiny nuts in the Autumn.
Mare's-tail is not a weed in the same league as Horsetail [Equisetum] in
any way!!
They do have a roughly similar appearance and originally Mare's-tail
was
given that name as it was believed to be the feminine form. It is a
semi-aquatic plant.
I don't mean to stir matters but I'm convinced there was an error!!
Can we just pretend we meant Horsetail all the time?

We don't need to pretend! The term Mare's Tail refers to two plants,
and it is the Equisetum that is meant here. Just as Bluebell refers
to two plants, depending on where you are in the UK. If you want to
be botanically precise, use botanical Latin.

In this newsgroup, some posters use common names, some may use only
Latin ones (but I can't think of any, offhand), and a lot flip between
common names and Latin ones as and when it seems good to them.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Nick,
Horsetail is nowhere mentioned as a local name for Mare's-tail. It does
feature, however, as a 'frequently mis-identified'!
Your supposition would beg the question: "If Horsetail is known locally as
Mare's-tail then what is the local name for Mare's-tail?"
Your analogy with bluebells is widely known; so much so that it is
customary to give a national prefix~English, Spanish and Scottish etc. They
are all flowering plants unlike the 'tails.
Best Wishes.
Brian