Flora of North America species comparison

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Ephedra californica

California Ephedra, California jointfir, cañatillo, desert tea
Habit Shrubs erect, 0.25–1 m.
Bark

gray-brown, cracked and irregularly fissured.
Branches

alternate or whorled, semiflexible to rigid, angle of divergence about 45°.
Twigs

yellow-green, becoming yellow, then yellow-brown with age, glaucous, with numerous very fine longitudinal grooves;

internodes 3–10 cm.
Leaves

in whorls of 3, 2–6 mm, connate to 1/2–3/4 their length;

bases at first membranous, then becoming thickened, completely deciduous;

apex acute.
Pollen cones

1–several at node, ovoid, 6–8 mm, on short, scaly peduncles;

bracts in 8–12 whorls of 3, light orange-yellow, ovate, 2–3 × 2–3 mm, membranous, slightly united at base;

bracteoles equaling or slightly exceeding bracts;

sporangiophores 3–5 mm, exserted to 1/3 their length, with 3–7 sessile to short-stalked microsporangia.
Seed(s)

cones 1–several at node, ovoid, 8–10 mm, on very short, scaly peduncles;

bracts in 4–6 whorls of 3, circular, 5–7 × 5–10 mm, papery, with orange- to green-yellow center and base, slightly clawed, margins entire.
Terminal

buds conic, 2–3 mm, apex acute.

Ephedra californica
Phenology Coning March–April.
Habitat Dry slopes and fans to valley grasslands
Elevation 50–1000 m (200–3300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; Mexico in Baja California
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Source FNA vol. 2.
Parent taxa Ephedraceae > Ephedra
Sibling taxa
E. antisyphilitica, E. aspera, E. coryi, E. cutleri, E. fasciculata, E. funerea, E. nevadensis, E. pedunculata, E. torreyana, E. trifurca, E. viridis
Name authority S. Watson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 14: 300. (1879)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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