The Gutter, Aberdeenshire

A species from the deep past

Uploader's Comments

The common horse-tail, Equisetum arvense, is an ancient species of plant whose ancestors were browed by dinosaurs. Modern horsetails are only a few centimetres high but their ancestors included tree-like species up to 200 feet in height living in the Carboniferous forests. They all evolved long before the flowering plants came along and they produce spores rather than seeds.

Uploaded to Geograph by Martyn Gorman on 21 April 2011

Creative Commons License Photo © Martyn Gorman, 21 April 2011. Licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons licence

Photo Navigator

BritishPlaceNames.uk is a Good Stuff website.