&,&,&&&,,&                                          ,&,&,&,,,&
&,&,,&&,&&                                          ,&,&,&,,&,
&,&,&,&,,&                                          ,&,&,&,&&,
&,&,&,&,&&                                          ,&,&,&,,&,
&,&,&,&,,&                                          ,&,&,&,&&,
&,&,&,&,&&                (EQUISETUM)               ,&,&,&,,&,
&,&,&,&,,&                                          ,&,&,&,&&,
&,&,&,&,&&                                          ,&,&,&,,&,
&,&,&,&,,&                                          ,&,&,&,&&,
&,&,&,&,&&         ,~~*~~, THE PLANT ,~~*~~,        ,&,&,&,,&,
&,&,&,&,,&                                          ,&,&,&,&&,
&,&,&,&,&& THE  EQUISETUM  IS A  PLANT  MUCH  OLDER ,&,&,&,,&,
&,&,&,&,,& THAN  FERNS,  WHICH  ARE  IN  TURN  MUCH ,&,&,&,&&,
&,&,&,&,&& OLDER THAN MOST TREES. IT'S  LIGHT GREEN ,&,&,&,,&,
&,&,&,&,,& TO  YELLOW  IN  COLOR  AND  IS  SLIGHTLY ,&,&,&,&&,
&,&,&,&,&&               TRANSPARENT.               ,&,&,&,,&,
&,&,&,&,,&                                          ,&,&,&,&&,
&,&,&,&,&& THE PLANT HAS  A SPINE. EACH VERTEBRA IS ,&,&,&,,&,
&,&,&,&,,& STACKED  UPON  THE  NEXT, WITH SPOKELIKE ,&,&,&,&&,
&,&,&,&,&& RIBS  RADIATING OUTWARD. EVEN  SO,  IT'S ,&,&,&,,&,
&,&,&,&,,& VERY  LIGHT,  BEING HOLLOW. IT'S ROUGHLY ,&,&,&,&&,
&,&,&,&,&& THE HEIGHT OF  A FOXES  TAIL, AND SHARES ,&,&,&,,&,
&,&,&,&,,&            A SIMILAR PLUMAGE.            ,&,&,&,&&,
&,&,&,&,&&                                          ,&,&,&,,&,
&,&,&,&,,& IT  LIKES PARTIAL  SHADE  AND VERY  DAMP ,&,&,&,&&,
&,&,&,&,&&                  AREAS                   ,&,&,&,,&,
&,&,&,&,,&                                          ,&,&,&,&&,
&,&,&,&,&&                                          ,&,&,&,,&,
&,&,&,&,,&                                          ,&,&,&,&&,
&,&,&,&,&&         ,~~*~~, IN MAGIC ,~~*~~,         ,&,&,&,,&,
&,&,&,&,,&                                          ,&,&,&,&&,
&,&,&,&,&& WHEN  A COLONY  NUMBERS  HIGH ENOUGH, IT ,&,&,&,,&,
&,&,&,&,,& SLICES  THE  AIR   IN  THE  FOREST  INTO ,&,&,&,&&,
&,&,&,&,&& SEPARATE PLANES, A  FEW  CENTIMETERS  IN ,&,&,&,,&,
&,&,&,&,,& HEIGHT.  TIME  CAN  GET   DIFFRACTED  IN ,&,&,&,&&,
&,&,&,&,&& THESE,  HITTING   EACH  IN   TURN  IN  A ,&,&,&,,&,
&,&,&,&,,&       SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT ANGLE, AND      ,&,&,&,&&,
&,&,&,&,&&          EVENTUALLY SPREAD THIN.         ,&,&,&,,&,
&,&,&,&,,&                                          ,&,&,&,&&,
&,&,&,&,&&                                          ,&,&,&,,&,
&,&,&,&,,&                                          ,&,&,&,&&,
&,&,&,&,&&                                          ,&,&,&,,&,
&,&,&,&,,&                                          ,&,&,&,&&,