Field (common) Horsetail (Equisetum arvense), fam. Equisetaceae.
Grows in moist, even waterlogged, but sunny places along the rivers. This is an ancient, evolutionary isolated plant. It contains a lot of silicon, which is one of explanations for its medicinal values. Possibly, horsetail is slightly toxic. However, its young, though rather tough shoots are sometimes consumed as food, and their decoction is used to treat urinary tract diseases and metabolic disorders. In the end of April, grey-brown spore-bearing shoots grow; if you shake them slightly, a little cloud of spores will show up. At the same time, green vegetative shoot appear, having "conifer-like" structure; they last for all summer.