Green Ephedra
Ephedra viridis
Photographed at Joshua Tree National Monument, California. April 2010.
Sponsored Links:
SHRUB: Essentially leafless shrub 1 m to rarely
2 m tall, with usually bright green twigs. Twig segments are
straight and appear jointed together. The ends of twigs are not thorn like.
CONES: This is an ancient conifer with male and female cones produced on
separate male and female plants. Male cones produce only pollen and the female
cones two smooth, angled seeds each.
UNARMED. The twig are stiff, but not spinescent at tips.
LEAVES: Two, narrowly triangular, 6
mm-long leaves are at each node. They soon whither and fall off.
RANGE: This Ephedra ranges mostly above the Sonoran Desert in
juniper woodland but can be found in the Sonoran Desert where the two habitats
are merging. Also found in the Great Basin Desert.
NO FLOWERS
A mildly stimulating beverage can be made by seeping fresh growth in boiling hot water to make a tea. Ephedrin or analogs are present in the resulting tea.