Ephedra antisyphilitica |
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clap-weed, erect Ephedra, popote, tepopote, vine Ephedra |
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Habit | Shrubs erect or spreading, 0.25–1 m. |
Bark | gray, slightly cracked and irregularly fissured. |
Branches | alternate or whorled, rigid, angle of divergence about 45°. |
Twigs | green, becoming yellow-green with age, glaucous, not viscid, with numerous longitudinal grooves; internodes 2–5 cm. |
Leaves | opposite, 1–3 mm, connate to 2/3–7/8 their length; bases thickened, brown, completely deciduous; apex obtuse. |
Pollen cones | 1–2 at node, lance-ellipsoid, 5–8 mm, sessile to nearly sessile; bracts opposite, 5–8 pairs, pale green to red, obovate, 2–4 × 2–3 mm, membranous, connate at base; bracteoles slightly exceeding bracts; sporangiophores 4–5 mm, 1/2 exserted, with 4–6 sessile to very short-stalked (less than 1 mm) microsporangia. |
Seed(s) | cones 1–2 at node, ellipsoid, 6–12 mm, sessile to nearly sessile; bracts opposite, 4–6 pairs, ovate, 5–7 × 5–10 mm, connate to 1/8–7/8 their length, inner pairs becoming fleshy and red. |
Terminal | buds conic, 1–3 mm, apex obtuse. |
Ephedra antisyphilitica |
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Phenology | Coning March–April. |
Habitat | Arid soils and rocky slopes |
Elevation | 100–1200 m (300–3900 ft) |
Distribution |
OK; TX; Mexico in Nuevo León and San Luis Potosí
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Discussion | Mexican populations of Ephedra antisyphilitica are disjunct from those in Texas. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 2. |
Parent taxa | Ephedraceae > Ephedra |
Sibling taxa | |
Synonyms | E. antisyphilitica var. brachycarpa, E. occidentalis, E. texana |
Name authority | Berlandier ex C. A. Meyer |
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