Origin of <i>Equisetum</i>: Evolution of horsetails (Equisetales) within the major euphyllophyte clade Sphenopsida

Abstract

Modern horsetails are not nested within calamitaceans; instead, both groups have explored independent evolutionary trajectories since the Carboniferous. Diverse fossil taxon sampling helps to shed light on the position and relationships of equisetalean lineages, of which only a tiny remnant is present within the extant flora. Understanding these relationships and early character configurations of ancient plant clades as Equisetales provide useful tests of hypotheses about overall phylogenetic relationships of euphyllophytes and foundations for future tests of molecular dates with paleontological data.