Ephedra trifurca |
Ephedra |
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long leafed Ephedra, longleaf Ephedra, longleaf jointfir, Mexican-tea |
cañatilla, Ephedra, joint-fir, Mormon-tea, popotillo, tepopote |
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Habit | Shrubs erect, 0.5–5 m. Bark gray, cracked and irregularly fissured. | Shrubs or occasionally clambering vines. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Branches | alternate or whorled, rigid, angle of divergence about 30°. |
jointed, yellowish green to olive-green when young. |
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Twigs | pale green, becoming yellow, then gray with age, glaucous, with numerous very fine longitudinal grooves; internodes 3–10 cm. |
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Leaves | in whorls of 3, 5–15 mm, connate to 1/2–3/4 their length; bases becoming gray and shredded with age; apex spinose. |
opposite or in whorls of 3, apex obtuse to setaceous from an adaxial-median thickening. |
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Pollen cones | 1–several at node, obovoid, 6–10 mm, on short, scaly peduncles; bracts in 8–12 whorls of 3, reddish brown, obovate, slightly clawed, 3–4 × 2–3 mm, membranous; bracteoles nearly equaling bracts; sporangiophores 4–5 mm, exserted to 1/4 their length, with 4–5 short-stalked microsporangia. |
lanceoloid or ellipsoid to ovoid or obovoid. |
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Seed(s) | cones 1–several at node, obovoid, 10–15 mm, on short, scaly peduncles (rarely sessile); bracts in 6–9 whorls of 3, circular, 8–12 × 8–12 mm, papery, translucent with reddish brown center and base, base clawed, margins entire. |
cones ellipsoid to ovoid, obovoid, or nearly globose. |
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Terminal | buds spinelike, to 10 mm. |
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x | = 7. |
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Ephedra trifurca |
Ephedra |
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Phenology | Coning late winter–early spring. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Habitat | Dry rocky slopes to flat sandy areas | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Elevation | 500–2000 m (1600–6600 ft) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distribution |
AZ; CA; NM; TX; Mexico in Baja California; Chihuahua; Coahuila; Sonora
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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 | The hybrid Ephedra × intermixta is discussed under E. torreyana. (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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Name authority | Torrey ex S. Watson: Botany (Fortieth Parallel): 329. (1871) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 1040. 1753; Gen. Pl. ed. 5, 462, (1754) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Web links |