shrubby horsetail

2 definitions found

shrubby horsetail - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Horsetail \Horse"tail`\, n.
     1. (Bot.) A leafless plant, with hollow and rushlike stems.
        It is of the genus Equisetum, and is allied to the
        ferns. See Illust. of Equisetum.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. A Turkish standard, denoting rank.
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     Note: Commanders are distinguished by the number of
           horsetails carried before them. Thus, the sultan has
           seven, the grand vizier five, and the pashas three,
           two, or one.
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     Shrubby horsetail. (Bot.) See Joint-fir.
        [1913 Webster]

  Joint-fir \Joint"-fir`\, n. (Bot.)
     A genus (Ephedra) of leafless shrubs, with the stems
     conspicuously jointed; -- called also shrubby horsetail.
     There are about thirty species, of which two or three are
     found from Texas to California.
     [1913 Webster]