great horsetail
noun
(In early use) any of several large horsetails of the genus Equisetum; (in later use) specifically a large horsetail, E. telmateia (formerly called E. majus), of damp soils in Eurasia, North Africa, and western North America.
Origin
Late 16th century; earliest use found in Henry Lyte (1529–1607), botanist and antiquary.