Summary ²

Ephedra is a medicinal preparation from the plant Ephedra sinica. Several additional species belonging to the genus Ephedra have traditionally been used for a variety of medicinal purposes, and are a possible candidate for the Soma plant of Indo-Iranian religion. It has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for more than 2,000 years. Native Americans and Mormon pioneers drank a tea brewed from other Ephedra species, called "Mormon tea" and "Indian tea".

Description ³

Scandent, perennial herb shrub. 3m height.

Branches – branchlets held stiffy erect in males and branches are bright green 2-2.5m, bracts are browns.

Flowers – yellow with yellow cones.

Strobili - yellow.

Altitude – up to 3800m.

Associated Species ³

Associated with cacti species on dry rocky slopes and hills.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Dcrjsr, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Green_ephedra_Ephedra_viridis_close.jpg
2. Adapted by Jeny Davis from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ephedra
3. (c) consci2014, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://www.inaturalist.org/guide_taxa/68367

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• eFloras.org
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• SEINet Symbiota portals
• Tropicos

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