Ephedra californica |
Ephedra coryi |
|
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California Ephedra, California jointfir, cañatillo, desert tea |
Cory's Ephedra, Cory's jointfir |
|
Habit | Shrubs erect, 0.25–1 m. Bark gray-brown, cracked and irregularly fissured. | Shrubs rhizomatous, forming clumps, erect, 0.25–1.5 m, 3–5 m diam. |
Bark | red-brown, cracked and irregularly fissured. |
|
Branches | alternate or whorled, semiflexible to rigid, angle of divergence about 45°. |
alternate or whorled, becoming rigid, angle of divergence about 25°. |
Twigs | yellow-green, becoming yellow, then yellow-brown with age, glaucous, with numerous very fine longitudinal grooves; internodes 3–10 cm. |
bright green, becoming yellow-green with age, not viscid, ridges between longitudinal grooves papillate, slightly scabrous; internodes 2–5 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. |
opposite, 2–5 mm, connate to 1/2–3/4 their length; bases thickened, brown, persistent, becoming hard, enlarged, and black; 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. |
2–several at node, obovoid, 4–6 mm, on very short, scaly peduncles (rarely sessile); bracts opposite, 5–9 pairs, light yellow, ovate, 2–4 × 2–3 mm, membranous, slightly connate at base; bracteoles slightly exceeding bracts; sporangiophores 2–4 mm, 1/4 exserted, with 5–7 sessile to short-stalked (less than 1 mm) 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. |
cones 2–several at node, obovoid to nearly globose, 7–15 mm, on smooth peduncles, 5–25 mm, with 1 pair of basal and 1 pair of nearly terminal bracts, at least in early cones; bracts opposite, 3–4 pairs, ovate to circular, 5–8 × 5–12 mm, inner pairs becoming fleshy (at least centrally) and orange at maturity. |
Terminal | buds conic, 2–3 mm, apex acute. |
buds conic, 1–3 mm. |
Ephedra californica |
Ephedra coryi |
|
Phenology | Coning March–April. | Coning March–April. |
Habitat | Dry slopes and fans to valley grasslands | Sandy, semiarid areas |
Elevation | 50–1000 m (200–3300 ft) | 500–2300 m (1600–7500 ft) |
Distribution |
CA; Mexico in Baja California
|
NM; TX |
Discussion | In New Mexico Ephedra coryi occurs only in an isolated population in the San Andreas Mountains and represents the shorter extreme (5–10 mm) in the range of peduncle length. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
|
Source | FNA vol. 2. | FNA vol. 2. |
Parent taxa | Ephedraceae > Ephedra | Ephedraceae > Ephedra |
Sibling taxa | ||
Name authority | S. Watson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 14: 300. (1879) | E. L. Reed: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 63: 351. (1936) |
Web links |