.^~\*%§@##                                          ##@§%*\~^.
..^~\*%§@#                                          #@§%*\~^..
...^~\*%§@                                          @§%*\~^...
....^~\*%§                                          §%*\~^....
.....^~\*%                                          %*\~^.....
....^~\*%§               (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.         §%*\~^....
...^~\*%§@                                          @§%*\~^...
..^~\*%§@#                                          #@§%*\~^..
.^~\*%§@##                                          ##@§%*\~^.
..^~\*%§@#                                          #@§%*\~^..
...^~\*%§@                                          @§%*\~^...