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clap-weed, erect Ephedra, popote, tepopote, vine Ephedra

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

Phenology Coning March–April.
Habitat Arid soils and rocky slopes
Elevation 100–1200 m (300–3900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
OK; TX; Mexico in Nuevo León and San Luis Potosí
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
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
E. aspera, E. californica, E. coryi, E. cutleri, E. fasciculata, E. funerea, E. nevadensis, E. pedunculata, E. torreyana, E. trifurca, E. viridis
Synonyms E. antisyphilitica var. brachycarpa, E. occidentalis, E. texana
Name authority Berlandier ex C. A. Meyer
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