Horsetail Coloring Pages

Baby Horsetail pops up in spring fields and mountains! Horsetail is not actually its own separate plant. It is a special stem called a spore stem that grows from a plant called field horsetail. It waits quietly underground all winter. When it gets warm, it pops up its head to scatter spores and grow more friends!

Name and English Origin

The name Horsetail has some fun origins based on how it looks and grows!

• English Name: In English, it is called Horsetail.

• English Origin: It got this name because the grown-up plant looks bushy, just like a horse's tail!

• Name Origin: In Japanese, the name "Tsukushi" has a few fun stories behind it.

  • "Poking Child": It looks like it is poking right up out of the ground.

  • "Attached Child": It looks like it is sticking close to the main plant.

  • Also, its Japanese Kanji characters mean "earth writing brush." That is because it looks like a brush stuck in the dirt!

When You Can Find It

Horsetail pops its head up around March to April. In warm places, you might see it late in February. The best time to find it is when cherry blossoms bloom!

Here are some tips to make Horsetail look real, simple, and cute!

Color the stem and sheath differently

• Stem color: Try coloring the stem with light beige, cream, or very light brown.

• Sheath color: Color the spiky ring around the stem with a slightly darker brown or deep brown. This makes it pop and look real!

Give the head a nice texture

• The top part of Horsetail is made of lots of tiny shape patterns.

• First, color the whole top with yellow-ochre or light green. Then, add a little dark brown shadow in the gaps. This makes it look bumpy and 3D!

Add the scenery around it

• Try drawing yellow-green field horsetail grass near the bottom.

• Draw little spring flowers in the background, like light purple henbit or blue speedwell. It will turn into a wonderful, lively field scene!

Actually the Same Plant as "Horsetail Leaves"

If you dig around where Horsetail is growing, you will find it is connected underground to a green plant called "Horsetail Leaves." Horsetail acts like a "flower" to spread pollen (spores), and Horsetail Leaves act like "leaves" to make food.

Written as "Earth Brush" in Kanji

In Kanji, Horsetail is written as "Earth Brush." People say it got this name because it grows straight out of the ground and looks just like a "brush" used for writing.

The Secret of the "Green Smoke" from Its Head

If you flick the head of a Horsetail with your finger, green powder sometimes puffs out like smoke. This is called "spores," and they are like seeds. They ride the wind to fly far away and grow new plants!

You Can Eat It If You Take Off the Skirts!

The spiky parts on the stem are called "skirts." If you peel off these skirts nicely and boil the stem, you can cook it with eggs or simmer it in soy sauce to eat. It has a yummy, slightly bitter spring taste!