Field horsetail is a native, perennial, rhizomatous cryptogam.
The spores germinate to produce a distinct gametophytic generation. The inconspicuous, scalelike leaves occur in whorls at the nodes and are connected at their bases. The rhizomes of field horsetail are branched and creeping. Elaters function to dig the spore into the soil surface and to tangle spores together, thereby creating a larger propagule and increasing the probability that prothalli will be close enough to ensure fertilization. Elaters may also aid in wind dissemination.