Water Horsetail Taken at Baron's Haugh on 9th May 2019 using Nikon D500 with Sigma 600 mm zoom lens. Taken at Baron's Haugh on 29th March 2019 using Panasonic Lumix LX5 in macro mode. Taken at Cathkin Marsh on 6th May 2017 using Panasonic Lumix LX5 in macro mode. Taken at Baron's Haugh on 26th May 2020 using Nikon D500 with Sigma 105 mm macro lens. Water Horsetail. Species: Order: Family: Habit: Equisetum fluviatile. Equisetales.. Equisetaceae. Perennial. Habitat: Height: Feature: Wet ground  and waste places. 10 - 45 cms. Strictly speaking Horsetail is not a flowering plant as it does not flower but carries spores like its relation the fern. Romans used horsetail to clean their metal pots and, surprisingly, make them non-stick (due to the silica content in the plant). In medieval times it was used as an abrasive by cabinetmakers, to clean metal and wooden objects. Millions of years ago, forests of horsetails grew to the size of our fir trees.