Ephedra funerea
Ephedraceae
Death Valley Ephedra, Death Valley jointfir, funera Mormon tea
Ephedra family, joint-fir family, Mormon-tea family
generally fibrous.
gray, slightly cracked and irregularly fissured.
gray to reddish brown, cracked and fissured.
alternate or whorled, rigid, angle of divergence about 60°.
generally many, terete, whorled to fascicled, finely longitudinally grooved, internodes 1–10 cm.
gray-green, becoming gray with age, glaucous, slightly scabrous, with numerous very fine longitudinal grooves;
internodes 2–6 cm.
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.
simple, opposite and decussate or whorled, scalelike, connate at base to form sheath, generally ephemeral, mostly not photosynthetic;
resin canals absent.
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.
compound, 1–10 in whorls at nodes; each compound cone composed of 2–8 sets of opposite or whorled membranous bracts, proximal bracts empty, each distal bract subtending a small cone composed of 2 basally fused bracteoles subtending a sporangiophore bearing 2–10(–15) sessile to long-stalked, bilocular, apically dehiscent, pollen-producing microsporangia.
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 compound, 1–10 in whorls at nodes of twigs; each compound cone sessile or on short to long peduncle, composed of 2–10 sets of overlapping, opposite or whorled, membranous or papery to fleshy bracts, proximal bracts empty, most distal bracts subtending 1 axillary cone composed of a pair of fused bracteoles enclosing a single-integumented ovule with integument projecting as tube from bracteole-envelope, envelope forming a leathery "seed coat" that is shed with seed.
buds conic, 1–4 mm, apex acute.
prolate, with 6–12 longitudinal furrows, not winged.
Ephedra funerea
Ephedraceae
Of conservation concern.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
In addition to the characters given in the key to families, wood anatomy can be used to distinguish Ephedra from the other gymnosperms in the flora. Only Ephedra has small cones, ring porous wood, wide multiseriate rays, and vessels in older stems.
Since antiquity, several species of Ephedra have been used medicinally worldwide. Such uses include cough medicines, an antipyretic, an antisyphilitic, a stimulant for poor circulation, and an antihistamine. These uses are based on the presence of tannins and alkaloids, particularly ephedrines.
Genus 1, species ca. 60 (12 species in the flora).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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