A living fossil

The horsetail

The horsetail is one of the most ancient plant on Earth and that’s why it’s also called “living fossil”. During the late Palaeozoic era was very common in the undergrowth, reaching almost 30 meters in hight.

Horsetail is a perennial plant, related to the ferns. 15 species belong to the order of Equisetum and about ten species can be found in the Italian flora.

Geologic evolution

The Earth has existed since 4,5 billion years ago and all the periods of this long life have been studied. Almost all the evolutive history of the Earth happened in the first long period, the Precambrian Era, that lasted until 514 million years ago. Then we have the Palaeozoic, that has finished 252 billion years ago due to the most significant mass extinction; the Mesozoic that lasted until a meteorite had had hit the Earth causing the dinosaurs to extinct, 66 billion years ago; and lastly the Cenozoic that includes present-day.

Anthropocene

The last period, characterized by glaciations that have created the Lake Iseo and the Torbiere is called Quaternary.

Scientists agree that the Earth is entering a new geological era called Anthropocene, in which human beings with their activities achieved to influence the geological processes due to territorial, structural and climatic changes.