Plant consisting of an erect jointed stalk, mostly a few feet tall, with no leaves or branches. The joints are marked by toothed sheaths which clasp the joint above. At the top a small dark brown cone (strobilus) produces spores.

A native relative of ferns, and a member of one of the oldest groups of land plants on earth. It likes wetplaces. Occasional in patches along Connelly's Run.

The plant is unmistakeable in the Park. Several other species of horsetails are very similar and can be distinguished from common scouring rush only by minor differences; however, they don't occur in southwest Virginia.