Equisetum myriochaetum, also known as Mexican giant horsetail, is a species of horsetail that is native to Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru and Mexico. It is the largest horsetail species, commonly reaching 15 ft, with the largest recorded specimen having a height of 24 ft.Equisetum myriochaetum at San Marcos Growers It is semi-aquatic and is often found growing on riverbanks. The species is harvested for medicinal use. In Mexico, the species is harvested and sold to treat kidney disease and type 2 diabetes. It has traditionally been used as a diuretic.
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
Compounds documented for Equisetum myriochaetum across natural-product and food-composition databases — not just the ~150 nutrients on a classic label ("nutritional dark matter").
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Equisetum myriochaetum has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
DNA specimens2
Marker genes2
GenBank sequences10
eDNA detections2
Countries1
The DNA barcodea real sequence read deposited for this species
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
★matK★rbcL10
plant barcode
06Genome at a glanceGoaT
The complete instruction manualEquisetum myriochaetum carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Genome sizehow big the whole instruction manual is
Genome size25 085 700 000 bp
Measured in base pairs (bp) — the individual letters of DNA (human ≈ 3.2 Gb, a bacterium a few million). The chart places this genome on a logarithmic scale — each step to the right is ten times bigger — among reference organisms. Across species a bigger genome loosely tracks with larger cells, slower growth and lower-energy lifestyles (powered flight favours small genomes) — yet it does not imply more genes or a more advanced organism (the long-standing C-value paradox).
BACTERIUM Carsonella ruddii0.00016 Gb
FUNGUS0.04 Gb
INSECT0.25 Gb
HUMAN3.2 Gb
WHEAT17 Gb
THIS GENOME Equisetum myriochaetum25.09 Gb
FERN Tmesipteris160.45 Gb
Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged
2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.
Chromosomes2n = 216 n = 108
Ploidy2× diploid · measured
Chromosome-count records — grouped by value · 2n = full set, n = gamete · click a value for sources & references
Ploidy records — measured levels and diploid/polyploid inferences · click for sources
diploid1×GoaT · Kew Plant DNA C-values Database
GoaT · Kew Plant DNA C-values Database
07Deep time~4.61 Ma lineage
How far back this lineage goes — and how we know. Everything here is measured in Ma, short for “mega-annum”: millions of years ago. The chart reads left to right like a calendar of the Earth, from the deep past on the left to today at the right edgetop to bottom like a core drilled through the Earth, from the deep past at the top down to today at the bottom.
At a glance
DNA clock origin4.61 Ma TimeTree
When this lineage existed
How to read this: the coloured strip along the bottomdown the left is the geological calendar — the standard epochs (Pliocene, Pleistocene…) every museum uses, shown so you can see which chapter of Earth's history this lineage lived in. This lineage is a young one, so the strip is zoomed in to epochs — the finer subdivisions inside a period. The orange marker is the DNA clock: DNA accumulates mutations at a roughly steady rate, so comparing this species' DNA with its relatives estimates when the lineage split off — independently of any fossil.
DNA clock origin
08Occurrence & distribution
Record type884 records
Wild obs. + sensor211
Museum / vouchered644
Other29
Origin
Native1
Range
Area of Occupancy AOO2 016 km²
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Coordinate accuracy82% within 1 km
≤100 m 89≤1 km 40≤10 km 23>10 km 6
158 georeferenced · 53 without coordinates
Open the mapobservation + sensor211
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Coordinate accuracy87% within 1 km
≤100 m 274≤1 km 17≤10 km 42>10 km 2
335 georeferenced · 309 without coordinates
Open the institutions mapphysical evidence644
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
10Collections & institutions
Holding institutions45 of 65 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
Institution
Specimens
Durango, MX
103
Saint Louis, US
87
Mexico City, MX
82
Austin, US
23
Tuxtla Gutiérrez, MX
19
Guatemala City, GT
19
Tuxtla Gutiérrez, MX
18
Ciudad de México, MX
18
Chicago, US
17
Bronx, US
16
Ciudad de México, MX
15
Ann Arbor, US
15
Museo Nacional de Costa Rica (MNCR)location not on record
14
University of Stellenboschlocation not on record
11
Xiamen, CN
10
Madison, US
10
León, NI
9
Aarhus, DK
8
Juriquilla, MX
7
MEXUlocation not on record
7
Tapachula, MX
7
CASlocation not on record
7
Burlington, US
7
Austin, US
6
Autlán de Navarro, MX
5
San Jose State University, Museum of Birds and Mammalslocation not on record
5
Chicago, US
5
Universidad Nacional de Colombia (UNAL)location not on record
5
Chapingo, MX
5
QCNElocation not on record
4
South Kensington, GB
4
Calabar, NG
4
Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas, Universidad Veracruzana, Región Xalapalocation not on record
3
Riverside, US
3
Berlin, DE
3
Cambridge, US
3
San Francisco, US
3
McWane Science Centerlocation not on record
3
Riobamba, EC
2
BMlocation not on record
2
Mexico City, MX
2
National Biodiversity Institute, Costa Ricalocation not on record
2
Antiguo Cuscatlán, SV
2
Florida Museum of Natural History- Zoology, Paleontology & Paleobotanylocation not on record
2
Philadelphia, US
2
Puebla, MX
2
Fort Worth, US
2
Instituto Tecnológico de Huejutlalocation not on record
2
DOI/NPS, Little Rock Central High School National Historic Sitelocation not on record
1
UFPRlocation not on record
1
Mérida, MX
1
Giardini Botanici Hanburylocation not on record
1
Loja, EC
1
Guatemala, GT
1
Indiana State Universitylocation not on record
1
Tlalnepantla, MX
1
NO DISPONIBLElocation not on record
1
Mexico City, MX
1
Minia, EG
1
Logan, US
1
Göteborg, SE
1
US
1
WTUlocation not on record
1
Bloomington, US
1
HEMlocation not on record
1
65 institutions · 627 of 644 vouchered records shown · 17 without an institution code
09Environmental DNA2 detections
Where the DNA of Equisetum myriochaetum was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Detections DNA found2
Studies independent surveys1
Signal confidence: weakweighed across independent studies, places & mapped detections
Where its DNA was found
0 of 2 detections have coordinates
Open the map0 countries0
How strong is each trace?
DNA read depthRead counts were not reported for this species — the map shows presence only, not how strong each trace was.
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation6 languages↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility884 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI2 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics2 specimens↗
NCBIUS National Library of Medicinesequences↗
LOTUSNatural Products (Wikidata)compounds↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
GoaTGenomes on a Tree · Sangergenome & karyotype↗