Ephedra funerea |
Ephedra |
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Death Valley Ephedra, Death Valley jointfir, funera Mormon tea |
cañatilla, Ephedra, joint-fir, Mormon-tea, popotillo, tepopote |
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Habit | Shrubs erect, 0.25–1.5 m. | Shrubs or occasionally clambering vines. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bark | gray, slightly cracked and irregularly fissured. |
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Branches | alternate or whorled, rigid, angle of divergence about 60°. |
jointed, yellowish green to olive-green when young. |
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Twigs | gray-green, becoming gray with age, glaucous, slightly scabrous, with numerous very fine longitudinal grooves; internodes 2–6 cm. |
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Leaves | in whorls of 3, 2–6 mm, connate to 2/3–3/4 their length; bases splitting at margins, persistent, forming black, thickened collar; apex acute. |
opposite or in whorls of 3, apex obtuse to setaceous from an adaxial-median thickening. |
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Pollen cones | 1–3 at node, narrowly ellipsoid, 5–8 mm, on very short, scaly peduncles (rarely sessile); bracts in 6–9 whorls of 3, light yellow, ovate, 3–4 × 2–3 mm, membranous, base short-clawed; bracteoles equaling bracts; sporangiophores 3–5 mm, exserted to 1/3 their length, with 3–7 sessile to short-stalked microsporangia. |
lanceoloid or ellipsoid to ovoid or obovoid. |
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Seed(s) | cones 1–3 at node, lance-obovoid, 8–15 mm, on short, scaly peduncles (rarely sessile); bracts in 6–9 whorls of 3, obovate, 4–8 × 3–5 mm, papery, yellow-translucent with green-yellow center and base, base broadly clawed, margins slightly dentate. |
cones ellipsoid to ovoid, obovoid, or nearly globose. |
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Terminal | buds conic, 1–4 mm, apex acute. |
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x | = 7. |
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Ephedra funerea |
Ephedra |
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Phenology | Coning March–April. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Habitat | Sandy, dry soil and rocky scrub areas | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Elevation | 500–1500 m (1600–4900 ft) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distribution |
CA; NV
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Mexico; Generally dry areas in temperate; tropical North America and Mediterranean regions; South America (Ecuador to Patagonia and lowland Argentina); s Europe; Asia; n Africa (including Canary Islands) |
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Discussion | Of conservation concern. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
The species of Ephedra are presented here in alphabetical order for three reasons. First, no modern monographic treatment has been written for all species of the genus since that of O. Stapf (1889). Second, it appears that the species occurring in North America belong to at least three wholly different groups within the genus, but this is not yet supported by thorough systematic studies. Third, interspecific relationships within any putative infrageneric group occurring in North America are at best vague and ill defined. The North American species of Ephedra are well defined based on combinations of vegetative and reproductive characters. Putative hybrids reported and described by H. C. Cutler (1939) appear to be products of singular events; these hybrids are discussed under the parental species. Infraspecific taxa are not recognized in this treatment because there appear to be no consistent defining characters and no geographic correlations; previous recognition of infraspecific taxa (H. C. Cutler 1939) appears to be based on random variability. Species ca. 60 (12 in the flora). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 2. | FNA vol. 2. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Parent taxa | Ephedraceae > Ephedra | Ephedraceae | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Synonyms | E. californica var. funerea | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Name authority | Coville & C. V. Morton: J. Wash. Acad. Sci. 25: 307. (1935) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 1040. 1753; Gen. Pl. ed. 5, 462, (1754) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Web links |