The spores have four spoon shaped elaters that aid in keeping them airborn. All the sexual reproduction structures are found on the cone at the tops of the horsetails. The cones may be found on the horsetails form July to November. Equisetum are living fossils. Some species have stayed the same for 200 million years.
Most species are extinct.
There are 20 - 30 species in the world and 2 in West Virginia. The can be found in wet places, mossy falls, bogs, and wet meadows.