Trees and Shrubs of Kern County (Jan
2013, May 2014, July 2015, Jan 2024, Aug 2025)
Ephedra. Much-branched
shrubs, subshrubs, or climbers, or small trees to 4.5 m (Price 1996)
with simple or usually branched photosynthetic
(green) stems. Basal woody stems when present erect or prostrate, the
erect woody stems simple or irregularly branched above base;
prostrate
woody stem simple or branched forming a network from which
photosynthetic (green) stems arise at regular intervals, the stems
varying in color from yellow green to dark green, jointed, longitudinally
grooved, often with whitish dot-like lines along the intervening ridges;
branchlets appearing opposite along a main axis, or in whorls, or
fascicles, or dichotomously divided. Leaves seasonal, appearing with
cones or after cones, opposite and decussate (each successive pair at
right angles) or whorled, scale-like, partially scarious and connate,
with or without
terminal green photosynthetic segment, 2–3 (-4) per
node, variable on a plant, or on different plants of a species (Foster
1972), base often persistent, aging brown, collar or scar-like. Male (pollen) and female (ovulate) cones usually on
separate plants (dioecious), or plants rarely monoecious,
the cones usually unisexual, very rarely bisexual, or in some species plants
are predominantly monoecious (Price
1996); male cones (1-) 2–10 at branch nodes, each cone with opposite or
whorled sets of scale-like bracts overlapping in a graduated series,
except for the lowermost (proximal), each bract overlying two fused
bracteoles (calyx-like or perianth) from within which arises 2–8
“stamens,” with
filaments
united (sporangiophore), terminating in a cluster of 1–8 bilocular
pollen sacs, often exserted slightly beyond the cone bract; female cones
up to 10 per node, with fewer scales than males, uppermost (distal) pair
or whorl fertile, ovules 1–4, usually 1–2 (-3) mature, each enclosed by two
integuments (hardened bracteoles), elongated to apex in a style-like segment
that forms a pollen
chamber. Cone fruit with 1–2 or rarely 3 seeds, generally known as an arcesthida
(Spjut
1994), or may be classified as an ephedroid carpidium when dry and not winged,
or apterocarpidium if winged, or an ephedroid sarcocarpidium when fleshy
(white, yellow, red, purple (Spjut 2014 umpubl.). Species 55–60 (-71); ~30 in Mediterranean
N Africa, Europe, and SW Asia extending east in dry subtropical and
temperate regions across Asia; ~14 western N
America (including Mexico), ~12 in the Andes (Price 1990). California
has 7or more native and 2 nonnative. Kern County generally recognized
with 3 in flora (Moe 2016), or perhaps 5 to as many 9 species may be
recognized, appearing to be a center of
diversity for dry bracteate fruit types of Ephedra species.
Images for 50 species on SEINet.
Note: Abbreviation cf. (confer) is indicated when plant
photos and/or specimens differ from species as circumscribed below based on
their type specimen (holotype, lectotype, neotype). Taxonomic keys to species
of Ephedra have been regarded artificial (Cutler 1939). Populations studies
are needed to identify morphological character attributes that relate to molecular differences.
This is complicated by polyploidy that is reportedly common in Ephedra (Ickert-Bond
et al. 2020; Hu et al. 2021; Rydin et al. 2021; Yu et al. 2023).
The
genus Ephedra (Ephedraceae) is a gymnosperm whose species are
commonly known as joint firs. Fossilized ovulate cones date back to the early
Cretaceous (Puebla et al. 2017), around 100 million
years (mya), while pollen dates earlier
to the late
Triassic, 200 mya (Puebla et al. 2017, citations); yet, DNA studies of
the extant species indicate a slow evolution only since the Eocene (~34
mya). Despite the long evolutionary history of Ephedra, only
about 50 (56 -71)
species are accepted of the more than 100 species that have been
described (Tropicos, 285 names under Ephedra). The DNA phylogeny
indicates Ephedra species dispersed from the Mediterranean
(Africa-Europe) east to Asia, then on to North America (NA) and from
there to South America (Ickert Bond and Renner 2015, Ickert-Bond 2004;
Rydin et al. 2021). Although the NA route via Beringia seems reasonable,
the Tertiary occurrences of pollen in eastern and southeastern US (PALYNODATA)
could also indicate a Europe-NA
direction of dispersal as suggested for Taxus (Spjut 2007). However,
this may also be a secondary route of dispersal from an earlier presence
of Ephedra or Ephedra-like species reported from seed and
pollen found in Portugal and eastern North America during
the early Cretaceous (Rydin et al. 2009). The age gap between Cretaceous
fossils and later Tertiary diversification might be best explained by
the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction (Bolinder et al. 2016) followed by a
second Eocene-Oligocene extinction from which the surviving species in
the Mediterranean regions then diversified and spread.
Phylogenetic
studies of Ephedra have not fully resolved species relationships
using plastid and nuclear ribosomal DNA data (Rydin et al. 2021;
Ickert-Bond 2004), which have included representative individuals of
most species. Least resolved are the southwestern North American
species. It
has been concluded that "many species appear affected by a history of
hybridization/introgression and/or polyploidy, but other processes may
result in similar patterns and reasons for the detected incongruence's
must be further analyzed, preferably using population-level sampling and
low-copy nuclear data" (Rydin et al. 2021).
Ephedra species
have been used for approximately 5,000 years in Chinese medicine. Perhaps
most documented is “Ma-huang” that includes E.
sinica, E.
equisetina, and E. intermedia, the stems employed for treating fever,
nasal congestion, and asthma (Caveney et al. 2001). In North America, seven species have been used medicinally by Native
Americans (Moerman 1998).Ephedra californica and E. nevadensis have been used in Baja California for
treating kidney ailments (Villanueva-Almanza 2011). The alkaloid ephedrine has been employed for treating asthma,
while also used as a stimulant
by
athletes (Mabberley 1987). Ephedrine is commercially extracted from
stems of Eurasian species; but not the New World species because they
lack ephedrine alkaloids. A review of recent studies on the biological
activity of Ephedra extracts is given by Elhadef et al. (2020).
Caveney et al.
(2001) also reported that the "Distachyae group of Eurasian species (Freitag
and Maier-Stolte, 1994)...contains the richest natural source of
ephedrine and pseudoephedrine" and that the "E. major (syn. E.
distachya) complex in the group is rich in both ephedrine and
pseudoephedrine (Qazilbach, 1971)."
Seventy-three
(73) extracts of Ephedra species
were screened by the National Cancer Institute during 1960–1982. Seven
were found active from samples collected in Pakistan, Turkey, Arizona,
and California. Activity was mostly from aqueous extracts in tumors
sensitive to tannins.
Neuroactive amino acids
with cyclopropyl ring structures and quinoline-related tryptophan
derivative—that have been reported in Eurasian and New World species—may
account for their historical use in Old and New World traditional
medicines (Caveney et al. 2001). Also, a diversity of endophytes thrive
in the Ephedra stems that include gall midges (Lasioptera spp.,
Boeklen & Hoffman 1993) and bioactive fungi (Huang et al. 2008).
Fusarium oxysporum was isolated from Ephedra fasciculata and
found to contain a depsipeptide (beauvericin 29) active against four
different cancer cell lines, NCI-H460 (human non-small-cell lung
cancer), MIA Pa Ca-2 (human pancreatic carcinoma), MCF-7 (human breast
cancer) and SF-268 human CNS cancer—glioma (Turbyville et al. 2006).
Another fungal endophyte, Chaetomium chiversii, isolated from the
same Ephedra species, contained radicicol 38 that has
antiproliferative activity against the breast
cancer cell line MCF-7 (Zhan
et al. 2007).
The taxonomy of the California Ephedra by
Ickert-Bond (2012 in JM2; eflora accessed 12/13/2023) expands previous
interpretations of Ephedra
funerea and E.
aspera
by Cutler (1939).
For example, E.
funerea "Death Valley Region, California to Nevada" (Cutler 1939),
Munz & Keck (1959, Death Valley region; sw Nev), Stevenson (1993 in FNA,
not detailed) and Griffin (1993 in JM1, "DMoj; to w NV"). The
same characters still apply with leaves and cones. Here other character
attributes are recognized for Kern County plants such as seasonal differences in the development
of leaves and cones; for example, leaves appear with cones in Ephedra
cf. viridis plants near Lake Isabella or after cones in plants
near Caliente (Spjut 2015). This
is also seen in angiosperms in which species of willows (Salix) are differentiated
by whether catkins develop before leaves or with the
leaves. Coning periods for North American species have been reported
(Stevenson in FNA 1993), but not for the seasonal
development of leaves. Examples
of leaf variation can be seen on SEINet specimens for E. aspera, Correll & Johnston 18332 (det. B. L. Turner) collected
in Big Bend Natl. Park, Chisos Mtns., July 22 (1957), and by E.
Palmer 1288 (syntype, det. S. Ickert-Bond) collected in Mexico,
Feb-Oct 1880..
Seed
characters such as the number
per cone (1 or 2–3) and their shape help differentiate species of female plants, while the number
of microsporangia seems to have little taxonomic utility at the species
level. The
number of male strobili per node, which does not always correlate with
the number of leaves per node, appears variable in a species, or perhaps
the variation may relate to different species rather than a variable
feature of a species.
Cutler (1939) reported that species
of Ephedra can be identified by stem anatomical characters such
as the number
of vascular bundles, the number
of hypodermal fiber strands, the number
of cells in a fiber strand, and the number
of stomata per sq mm.
However,
counting stomata per sq mm, such
as 108 cited for E.
torreyana vs.
84 for E. funerea, for example, does not seem
practical, while species variation in these
character features was not described. Pant and Verma
(1974) also reported on Ephedra stomata data that seems to support Cutler's (1939) observations, indicating that
species can be distinguished by the number of stomata bands per stomatiferous
internodal and nodal areas ranging from 1–4 bands in E. alata to 17 bands in E. californica, and to 19 bands in
E. chilensis. Variation in papillae on subsidiary cells in the internodal
and nodal regions, as
described by Pant and Verma (1964), also
appears to
have taxonomic value. Species differences in the number of leaf stomata rows and adjacent rows of marginal cells lacking papillae in the
conifer genus Taxus were employed by Spjut (2007) to distinguish
its species. Nuclear and chloroplast DNA phylogenies largely support
Spjut's taxonomy of Taxus.
is
an additional species that has been found in the Death Valley region
(Sanders et al., CCH specimens, 2011, 2012). Villanueva-Almanza and Fonseca (2011) reported E.
antisyphilitica to occur
in Mexico near the California border—Mexicali and Ensenada; thus, it too
may be in California. Ephedra
torreyana,
which reportedly hybridizes with other species (Stevenson 1993), is
distinguished by the midnerve on ovulate bracts, pale
orange sword-shaped (lanceolate) nerve (or orange -yellow
to greenish -yellow,
Cutler 1939) on the ovulate bracts and scale-leaves, in contrast to the
broad elliptical pale orange-red
nerve in seed
cones of E. funerea. Leaves
of E.
trifurca,
which has
a similar orange -colored
nerve, differ in being narrower and longer and not recurved from the tip with age as in E. torreyana; instead, they shreds with
age as in E. funerea. Ephedra trifurca is
also distinguished by the rigid branches ending in a sharp spine and by
the relatively long linear leaves. Ephedra
antisyphilitica,
not likely to occur in Kern County, is distinguished by fleshy red
bracts that surround the seed.
In Kern County, three species are fairly common, Ephedra
californica, E. nevadensis, and E. viridis. A helpful
character to separate them is the angle of branching, nearly at right
angles in E. nevadensis, ~30° in E.
viridis in which branches appear erect and nearly parallel to
one another. The angle of branching in E.
californica, ~45° (Cutler 1939; Stevenson 1993), is thus intermediate
between the two other species, while their erect to spreading growth
resembles E. viridis; however, the leaves, when present—that occur in
three's—easily identifies E. californica. Nevertheless, the reported occurrences of
E. californica east of the Southern Sierra foothills need study,
especially where the species overlaps with E. funerea in Inyo
County. The latter can be distinguished by grayish green color of the
stem ending in sharp spine. Color of stems also separates E. nevadensis, gray to grayish green, from E.
viridis, green to yellow green.
Ephedra aspera has been reported near the
Kern County line along
Hwy 58, while I have only seen E. nevadensis in the region—where
locally common in creosote scrub (Larrea tridentata shrubland
alliance). Shrubs with well-developed erect woody stems and orange
pollen cones along the Pacific Crest Trail near Walker Pass and in upper Jawbone
Canyon have persistent leaf characteristics similar to an
illustration of E. aspera in Powell (1998), described in the key
below as cuspidate-recurved, while another kind of leaf also seems to
develop as seen in the isolectotype (US), but not evident in a male syntype.
Variation in leaf development on an
Ephedra plant can vary considerably (Ickert-Bond and Renner 2015),
and for some plants leaf development
appears to have two
developmental patterns as shown for E. viridis near
Lake Isabella.
A fourth species in Kern County, Ephedra arenicola, was
discovered in Squirrel Canyon in the Piute Mountains (Spjut 2015). The
identification was made by comparison to the type specimen collected
from Apache County, AZ. The species was described by Cutler as a hybrid
between E. torreyana and “E. coryi var. viscida” [E.
cutleri]; however, the unusual character feature of the distal
bracts of seed cones appearing with raised mid and lateral nerves, and
its disjunct geographical disjunction, would seem to justify species
status without hybrid designation. The leaves of the E. arenicola type
are remarkably similar to those seen on the E. aspera type. Based
on this and the rough appearance of the dark green stems, E.
arenicola would seem to be a distinct species that was more widely
distributed and has since evidently hybridized with E. aspera in
Apache County, AZ, and
E. viridis in Kern County, CA. Although originally thought to be
a hybrid, the occurrence of a second collection from a distant disjunct
location, is
viewed as an amendment to the circumscription of a species,; thus, the
hybrid designation is not necessary.
It
is not uncommon for species to have their circumscriptions amended based on records
from new geographical areas..
Ephedra
funerea
has also been reported in Kern County based on identification from a
software photo determination, Plantnet (Calflora with reference to iNaturalist
addition 11/26/2008, but photo not included, observer Del Faverno
(Bristlecone Chapter, location accuracy 50,000 sq km). Another Kern
County collection reported by Bartholomew and Boufford 04/20/1985, 28 km
E of Interstate Highway 5 on State Highway 138 (CCH1, herbarium
specimen) was searched for in 2013 without success .
This location, which is about 3 km south of the Kern County line in Los
Angeles County, appears to have had its vegetation cleared at some time
in the past.
An
Ephedra
found along Erskine Creek in the Piute Mountains and in the southern
Sierra Nevada along the Pacific Crest Trail northeast of Tehachapi has a
vine-like habit with long pedunculate (stalked) cones (Erskine Creek
plants), originally thought to be E. viridis. These features
suggest E. pedunculata, a species known from southern Texas and
northern Mexico; however, upon further review as of Dec 2023, it is
referred to Ephedra foliata, a widely distributed Mediterranean
species that extends from the desert regions of northern Africa to
western India. Here
it may be noted that the Mediterranean E. foeminea, an Eurasian-North
African species, was discovered growing in Santa Barbara County where
possibly naturalized (CCH2, identified by Ickert-Bond). It is
distinguished from all other Kern County species by the red fleshy
bracts (JM2), which are likely dispersed by birds (see photo of species
by Ori Fragman-Sapir, JungleDragon.com).
Along the Kern River near Lake Isabella is an Ephedra with erect pale green stems arising
from a much -branched
network of horizontal, rhizomatous-like, woody stems, spreading over 10
m, tentatively assigned to Ephedra cf. nevadensis. It differs from the
typical form of the Nevada ephedra by the flexuous (not rigid) whorled
branches not as wide -spreading.
Occurring with this (Ephedra cf. nevadensis) is Ephedra
cf. viridis, differing slightly from the common form by shortly
stalked seed cones, aborted development of one of two seeds per cone,
and by the development
of long narrow linear green leaf segments, either from the axils of
nonphotosynthethic
scale-leaves, or
from their tips, which appear to soon wither and drop. These
plants may possibly be hybrids. They
both cone during the May.
Two proposed species of Ephedra in Kern County are referred to as
Ephedra sp. A (Erskine Creek in the Piute Mountains, and north of
Caliente below Stevenson Peak,) and
Ephedra sp. B photographed in Box Canyon near Stevenson Peak. The
latter is also
recognized in Inyo County near Darwin (pers. obs. May 2015), and
from images on Calphotos of one reportedly taken in Washoe County, NV. Young
branches or branchlets were frequently present on Arizona specimens
reviewed of E. fasciculata on SEINet.
The following key is tentative due to species concepts in Ephedra that have varied among the treatments over time (Cutler 1939;
Munz & Keck 1959; Stevenson in FNA 1993; Griffin in JM1 1993;
Ickert-Bond in JM2). Although the number of scale-leaves implies a
diagnostic feature for recognizing species, its application probably
does not reflect the natural relationships as evident from their
variation in shape, texture, color, connation, and persistence observed
within a “species” from different locations and also from comparing
species descriptions among the floristic treatments. Further,
species of Ephedra do
not generally fall into the ecogeographic patterns of other plant
species as noted for E.
californica in
MCV2. Detailed
field studies during coning periods are needed. As
reported by Cutler (1939), about
two-thirds of the herbarium specimens he studied could not be
confidently identified, while he also indicated that his key was
“artificial.”
Key to Species of Ephedra
1. Green stems
creeping, vine like; branches below apex
often opposite
at 90 degree angles; rare, Erskine Creek,
Eastern Sierra
Nevada along Pacific Crest Trail northeast of Tehachapi
............
Ephedra foliata
1. Green stems mostly
upright, branches below apex often in whorls
at 28–90 degree
angles................................................................ .......................2
2.
Green stems mostly parallel to one another, at least above mid region
of plant; branching not more than at 45 degree angle except below mid
region ..... 3
2.
Green stems wide spreading above mid region, branching at
±
45 degrees
or more
..............................................................................................................
8
3. Leaves soon deciduous, white to gray, scarcely
thickened
at base;
stems not closely parallel to one another, often crisscrossing; 1 of 2
seeds
often aborting;
Kern River,
south
end of Lake
Isabella (possibly a hybrid
from growing in association with E. viridis)......................
Ephedra cf. nevadensis
3. Leaves often with
persistent collar at
base............................................................... 4
4.
Leaf bases yellow orange to brownish orange, often puckered;
seeds
usually two, sometimes 1 aborting, two angled,
rounded on back, flat on inner surface......................................... .........................5
4. Leaf base mostly a thick brownish collar, or absent; seeds 1-2,
variable
in shape
..............................................................................................................
7
5.
Main stems with whorls of erect short leafy shoots;
leaves at short
intervals, overlapping nearer apex;
cones solitary, sessile, oriented
perpendicular
to stem; Piute Mtns. (Stevenson Peak,
Piute Mt., also Inyo Co
near Death Valley NP
and Washoe Co.,
NV (CalPhotos)................
Ephedra sp. B
5. Main stems with
long branches, not always in whorls; leaves at
regular intervals
....................................................................................................
6
6. Leaves similar throughout, tightly clasping stems, often with
sheath and
salmon-orange mid-nerve, puckered at base, connate to above middle,
obtusely rounded to apex; seed cone bract not fleshy orange;
widely distributed in Kern Co.....................................................
Ephedra viridis
6. Leaves on stems, with sheath and with or without long
linear terminal green segment..................................................
Ephedra cf. viridis
6.
Leaves connate halfway, without sheath, triangular lobed
near apex, lobes acute; seed cone bracts orange,
apparently rare, Four Corners, not in
Kern Co, sandy
desert, wTX ...............................................................................
Ephedra coryi
7.
Distal bracts of seed cone (1-) 3-(5) nerved, seeds 2;
Apache Co., ne AZ near
Dennehotsco (leaves
connate to near apex),
Kern Co. (Squirrel Canyon, leaves deciduous)......................
Ephedra arenicola
7. Distal
bracts of seed cone not appearing nerved, margins scarious;
seed 1; "Ft. Tejon and vicinity," juniper woodland between
Tehachapi
and
Mohave................................................................................ Ephedra aspera
8. Stems ±4-angled; yellowish
green; nodes with dark
brown collar;
Piute Mts. (Stevenson Peak, near
Caliente,
Erskine Creek ................................................................
Ephedra
sp. A
8. Stems mostly round in outline,
grayish green; scale-leaves gray to
white-scarious,
deciduous; node collar white with
narrow strip of ...................................................................................................
9
9. Stems rigid, grayish green; branches in whorls
diverging at
±
60
degrees.................... 10
9. Stems flexuous or
rigid,
dark green to yellow
green; branches in whorls or not,
diverging at
< 60 degrees ..................... .................................................................11
10. Seeds 2, broadly ellipsoid, 6–9 mm, ~2×
longer than wide,
brownish, flattened on inner surface;
scale-leaves in 2's;
branch tips not spiny; mostly Mojave Desert and desert slopes
of Sierra Nevada ........................................................... .........
Ephedra nevadensis
10. Seed 1 (-3), narrow ellipsoid to bottle shaped, ~3×
longer
than wide; scale-leaves in 3's; branches spine tipped.........................
Ephedra funerea
11. Scale-leaves in 3's (whorled).......................................................
Ephedra californica
11. Scale-leaves opposite (in 2's, or 2's and 3's)..............................................................
12
12. Stems yellow green to dark green;
pollen cones often stalked, seed cones
shortly stalked; seeds usually one
..............................................................................
13
12. Stems bright yellow green;
pollen and seed cones stalked; seeds two.......................... 14
13. Stems branched at wide angles; branches often flexuous or
appearing
almost filiform; persistent parts of leaves short oval white to gray,
above collar; stems slender, cone bracts pale yellow with narrow dark
mid area; seeds 1(-2), conical, widest below mid region, long tapered to
pointed apex, longitudinally furrowed;
possibly in
Kern
County;
eCA (seed
<8 mm
may be referred to E. clokeyi, and by cone bracts ,
widest near base);
wAZ, sNV, sUT................................................. Ephedra fasciculata
13.
Branches of main stems ascending upwards, closely parallel;
persistent scale-leaves brown cuspidate-recurved or gray-white,
or
connate-clasping with short triangular acute tapered lobes
(one or both present on same plant); seeds 1(-2), widest near
base, tapered to an obtusely
rounded apex, mostly smooth;
Kern
County;
"Ft. Tejon
and vicinity"; Sonoran, southern Mojave, and Chihuahua
deserts; between Tehachapi and Mojave (Abrams & McGregor at HUH
may be regarded E. clokelyi).................................................................
Ephedra aspera
14. Pollen cones stalked, the stalks longer towards apex of young
shoots;
seed cone bracts fleshy; orange; possibly in
Kern County
but generally considered rare, sandy desert, wTX.......................................
Ephedra coryi
14. Scale-leaves long tapered (setaceous) to apex, often
persistent at tips of
stems and below, cuspidate; photosynthetic stems often bright greenish
yellow; seed scales
with
dark central oval region; seeds dark purplish or
nearly black, exserted;
plants often with many whorls of short
shoots, possibly
in Kern
Co; Four Corners ..............................................
Ephedra cutleri
Ephedra arenicola
Cutler 1939 (“X E. arenicola,”
putative hybrid between E. torreyana and E. cutleri).
Shrub to 1 m, with whorled branches, spreading ~35⁰;
leaves persistent and opposite in type specimen, of two kinds as seen in
E. aspera, (1) connate and slightly wedge-shaped with a prominent
mid nerve, shortly broad deltoid to apex, and (2) cuspidate without mid
nerve, acutely tapered to recurved apex; seed cones in pairs; lower seed
bracts keeled, upper bracts 3 nerved; seeds acutely tapered to apex.
Type from Apache Co., AZ, 5 miles south of Dennehotsco. Also recognized
here to occur in Squirrel Canyon, Kern County; specimen from one plant
collected, remarkably similar in development of paired seed cones, seed
shape, and the strongly 1-3 nerved bracts (see images above).
Ephedra aspera
S. Watson 1883. [Ephedra
nevadensis S. Watson 1871 var. aspera (S. Watson) L. D.
Benson 1943]. Includes Ephedra clokeyi Cutler 1939 [Ephedra
fasciculata A. Nelson 1934 var. clokeyi (H.C. Cutler) Clokey 1945]. Rough
ephedra, boundary ephedra. Shrubs with stiff erect closely parallel
branches, to 1.5 m; older stems with fissured bark, photosynthetic
shoots rather thick, ~ 3 mm diam, dark green, yellow with age, rough and
papillate, smooth and glaucous between ridges, branching opposite or in
whorls of 3 or 4, at angles of ~35⁰,
whorls of branches often at frequent intervals;
scale-leaves in 2’s
(rarely 3 per node), 1–3.5 mm long, united half or more of their length,
persistent in the typical form (with seed cones), or the sheath
splitting, fibrous, swollen at base; leaf collar brownish; pollen cones
yellow to orange, drying
reddish brown, with broad rounded (elliptical) bracts; seed 1,
± broad ellipsoid,
tapering to apex from above mid region, or trigonal, 5–8 mm, tan to chestnut
brown.
Widely distributed in deserts of the southwestern North America,
mostly below 5,000 ft, generally Mojave and Sonoran deserts as far
south as the Magdalena Desert in Baja California (Turner et al. 1995),
to the Chihuahua Chihuahua Desert Texas and south into Mexico,
also reported in the western Great Basin Desert. Type from the Sierra
Madre in Coahuila, 40 miles south of Saltillo, Mexico [Palmer 1288,
implied by Watson but not the only specimen referred to; lectotype
designated by Cutler (1939) with reference to specimen at MO (Tropicos.org.
Missouri Botanical Garden. 22 May 2015 <http://www.tropicos.org/Image/45632>,
low resolution, sheet with 2 specimens with different labels, specimen
appearing to have seed cones annotated by Cutler as “TYPE ”);
isolectotypes GH, NY UC, US (high resolution image, 2 specimens with two
labels, one with seed cone has persistent connate leaves, annotated
syntype by Ickert-Bond, May 2002); the other with pollen cones,
Palmer s.n., 1880, with handwritten annotation, reference to
Cutler(?), “duplicate of type,” lacks connate leaves]. Kern Co.:
Ft. Tejon & vicinity, Xantus de Vasey 112, collected 1857-58 (US!, syntype for E. nevadensis, annotated E.
aspera by Ickert-Bond.
CCH-two records: (1) N. Cooper, 19 Apr 1949, from County line west of Kramer
along US Hwy.466 (Hwy 58), 2800 ft (n.v.); (2) between Tehachapi and Mojave
(Abrams & McGregor, 28 Jun1908, cited by Cutler 1939, with
pollen cones, no seed (HUH!). Plants photographed along the Jawbone-Kelso
Creek Canyon Road, 12 May 2011,
have the persistent cuspidate leaves but the plants only had pollen
cones.
Ephedra aspera
links:
SEINet,
Calflora, Calscape.
Ephedra aspera—as treated by Ickert-Bond
(JM2)—includes E. fasciculata previously recognized in Munz &
Keck (with reference to Cutler 1939) as a low often prostrate plant
with flexuous branches, in sharp contrast to E. aspera they
characterized as an erect plant
with rigid branchlets. However, Ephedra aspera was not recognized
to occur in California in earlier floras (Jepson, McMinn, Abrams),
whereas E. fasciculata—that was recognized by Griffin (JM1)—was
referred to as a synonym of E. aspera by Ickert-Bond (JM2); but is among 54 species recognized in Ickert-Bond and
Renner (2015).
Ephedra fasciculata and the related E. clokeyi were
distinguished from E. aspera by elliptical shape of ovulate scales
and by the dark brown furrowed seeds in contrast to the orbicular scales
and non-furrowed light brown seeds of E. aspera; E.
fasciculata was then separated by seed length, 8–13 mm, in contrast
to 5–8 mm for E. clokeyi (Cronquist et al. 1972; Munz & Keck
1959; Shreeve & Wiggins 1964). Seed of E.
fasciculata in most cone specimens on SEINet appear narrower and
acutely tapered to apex from below mid region. This is in contrast to a more plump (oval in
outline) in E. aspera specimens. A key feature of E.
fasciculata is the furrowed seed (E. fasciculata
SEINet image by Anthony Menzoza), which often is often clearly
discernible in specimen images due to much of the seed being obscured by cone bracts. Plants without
cones may be recognized by persistent cuspidate recurved leaves, in
contrast white parts often seen above the collar in E. fasciculata. California
plants may be distinguished as E. clokelyi.
Although the circumscription of E. aspera has varied
among different floristic treatments, key features in common are the
usually single seed and paired leaves in contrast to the two seeded
“cones” of E. nevadensis and E. viridis, also with paired
(opposite) leaves, in further contrast to the whorled leaf arrangement
in other species. Branchlets of E. aspera are often numerous—in
fascicles—growing erect, closely parallel, and rigid. Ephedra
viridis is most similar in habit, and difficult to distinguish in
sterile leafless plants, except perhaps by its yellowish green stems.
The type specimen
of E. aspera (high resolution image at Smithsonian Online
Herbarium Collections) exhibits two kinds of leaves, one
appears associated with vegetative growth as seen near base of specimen
where persistent leaves clasp and recurve from their tips; the other
more sheathlike and connate to ~7/8 of their length, which can be
observed at base of seed shoots and on young shoots, in the axils of old
leaves on older shoots as well as at apex of shoots. This latter type of
scale-leaf is distinctive but rarely seen in herbarium specimens
identified E. aspera; but see Correll & Johnston 18332,
reported to have been collected 22 July 1957 (LL, TEX, on SEINet).
See also Ickert-Bond and Renner (2016, Fig. 4)
Ephedra peninsularis I. M. Johnston 1922, described
from Magdalena Island, was interpreted to be widely distributed in Baja
California; however, it has been generally treated as a synonym of E. aspera.
Its type (isotype, GH, HUH & Libraries, image) shows less
tapered
pollen
cones with well exserted anthers. An Ephedra I collected on
the Vizcaíno Peninsula near Puerto Nuevo was noted to be unusual for the
blood red sap.
Not surprisingly, the geographical ranges of these species
have also varied according to different authorities. Stevenson (FNA
1993) showed E. aspera to reach its northernmost distribution
along the US/Mexico boundary—from California to southwestern Texas;
hence, the common name boundary ephedra. Griffin (JM1 1993) indicated a
much wider range for E. aspera—a more northern occurrence,
extending into the Mojave Desert as previously recognized by Munz & Keck
(1959). The treatment by Ickert-Bond (JM2) extends the range further
north—into the Great Basin Desert of the California flora for which
there is a specimen in CCH (Ickert-Bond annotation)—that reported its
collection site 25 miles east of Lee Vining, 2296 m. Ephedra aspera
also occurs southwards into mainland Mexico and along the Pacific Coast
in Baja California Sur (Turner et al. 1995; see also CIRH).
Ephedra californica S. Watson 1879.
Desert tea, California joint fir. Shrub with numerous densely tufted
erect green stems (caespitose) from a short
woody base, or small tree with a definite single trunk; photosynthetic
stems (branchlets) green to yellowish green, most branchlets spreading ~45°,
often
not closely parallel to one another; scale-leaves in 3's (rarely 2, or
4), united
at first, with a greenish or reddish brown medial thicker part, soon
splitting with the tips curving backwards (recurved), the basal collar
bulging (typical form), darkening with age; cones usually 3 per node;
seed solitary, ovoid (type), globose, ellipsoid, or obovoid (Kern Co.), 1–1.5 (-2)× as long as
wide.
Scattered occurrences in diverse habitats below 4,000 ft;
grasslands of Inner South Coast Ranges near Gilroy in California,
coastal strand near San Diego, Peninsular Ranges in California and then
south in various habitats to near Bahía Tortugas, Vizcaíno Peninsula (CIRH,
Turner et al. 1995). Also Panamint Range, eastern ranges of Death
Valley near Nevada state line, sand dunes and washes in the Mojave
Desert, southern Sierra Nevada in Kern Co., Tehachapi Mts., and then
south to the Sonoran and Chihuahua deserts of southeastern Arizona.
“Californica joint fir scrub” (alliance) recognized in MCV2 when ≥ 2%
absolute cover in the shrub layer, noting also that the ecology of the
species is poorly known. Type from San Diego Co., Jamul Valley.
Original material includes two specimens with leaves collected by Edward
Palmer in 1875, Palmer 864 & Palmer 865 mounted on one
sheet (HUH-GH!),
without cones except for two seed (Palmer 864) and two immature
pollen cones (Palmer 865) mounted below each specimen reported to
have come from attached specimen packets, scales and seed for one cone
separated, its associated specimen (Palmer 864) has leaves
recurved near apex,
designated
"Type" by Cutler 1939, and lectotype by Ickert-Bond, May 2002, the other
with leaves recurved to near mid region and its associated two pollen
cones below annotated syntype by Ickert-Bond May 2002, the specimen
reportedly collected from San Diego, San Diego Co. Kern Co.:
“Occasional in the California juniper belts from Recruit Canyon and the
Panorama Hills in the southern Temblor Range to the east
end of Cuyama
Valley (where unusually large plants grow on the sand flats),
and along the sandy foothills on the east side of the valley from the
mouth of Kern Canyon south to Comanche Canyon in the Tejon Hills,”
73–1,300 m (CCH excluding suspected misidentifications). Also common on steep loose sedimentary rocky banks in Caliente Creek Canyon (pers.
obs.). Plants from near the Death Region shown in CCH2 under E.
californica may be identified var. funerea; e.g.,
Annable 557 collected in the Funeral Mountains. Ethnobotanical (Moerman): Diegueño Infusion of branches to purify blood,
improve
appetite, or to relieve stomachaches from eating too much, and for
kidneys.
Leaves
of plants in Kern
County plants such as shown here from bluffs along Caliente Creek, were
not found with cones during March but in late July after a
summer rain.
E. californica
links to
SEINet,
Calflora,
Calscape.
Ephedra coryi
E. L. Reed 1936. Shrub forming clumps from rhizomes, photosynthetic
shoots often with whorls of long shoots, olive green; pollen and seed
cones stalked; New Mexico and Texas. Type from Brownfield, Texas,
Reed. 4147, 29 Apr 1935 (US). Lectotype designated
by Cutler, Ann. Mo. Bot Gard. 26: 413, annotated by S. Ickert-Bond,
May 2002.
Ephedra cutleri
Peebles 1940 (new name for Ephedra coryi var. viscida
Cutler 1939). Navajo ephedra. Shrub forming clumps from rhizomes,
photosynthetic shoots often with whorls of short shoots, bright green,
yellowing with age, viscid due to tiny transparent resin droplets;
leaves opposite, setaceous, persistent, connate to 1/2, thickened at
base, long tapered to apex, drawn out part 5–8 mm; pollen cones shortly
stalked; seed cones on stalks 5–25 mm, generally
longer towards base of shoots, scales with a broad dark greenish mid
region, ¾ or more of a scale, and with narrower hyaline margin; seeds 2,
elliptic in outline. Sandy and .rocky slopes and flats, Four Corners
region. Type from Apache Co., AZ, 10 miles west of Rock Point. Fresh
samples collected and extracted by water by the College of Pharmacy at
the University of Arizona during the 1960’s showed antitumor activity,
one of the entire plant collected Aug 1961 was found active Jul 1971 in
Sarcoma 180 (mouse), and another collected Jul 1962, divided into
root—active (Sep 1965) in Friend Virus Leukemia (mouse)—and
stem-leaf—active (Apr 1965 ) in Dunning leukemia ascites (rat). Active
agents unknown.
Ephedra fasciculata
A. Nelson 1934. Fasciculate ephedra. Shrubs generally broader than
high, up to 1 m; the erect branches arising in whorls or as singles from
horizontal branches, generally wide, spreading 30° to 45°, pale green, aging (or drying)
yellow, smooth except for being grooved; leaves opposite, 1–3 mm,
connate 1/2–3/4; membranous,
brown, shredding and graying with age, ± persistent, obtusely tapered to
apex; pollen cones 2–several per node, 4–8 mm, sessile; bracts 4–8
pairs, light yellow, obovate, 2–3 × 2 mm, membranous, bracteoles
exceeding bracts; sporangiophores 3–9 mm, ¼– ¾ exserted, anthers 6–10,
sessile to short-stalked (microsporangia less than 1 mm); seed cones 2
or more per node, 6–13 mm, sessile or shortly stalked; bracts 4–7 pairs,
elliptic, 3–7 × 2–4 mm, membranous, light brown to green, thickened
along center and at base, margins entire. Seeds 1(–2), conical, tapering
from below mid region, 5–12 ×
3–5 mm, light or dark brown, acutely tapered to
apex, longitudinally furrowed, . Dry rocky slopes, washes, and sandy soils; 300–1200 m; AZ, CA, NV,
UT. Included under E. aspera in JM2, recognized in previous
California floras and in FNA. Type from "hot dry banks of a sandy wash
in low hills near Phoenix"; type specimen lacks cones, thus, the
taxonomy of the species is questionable. California specimens
identified E. aspera may actually belong to E. clokeyi.
This includes Abrams and McGregor specimen at HUH, collected
between Tehachapi and Mojave in Kern County, which has branches
spreading at wide angles and pollen cones.
Ethnobotanical (Moerman). Pima: Powdered roots applied to
sores or syphilis.
Links:
SEINet
Ephedra foliata
Boiss. ex C.A.Meyer
1846 [Mém. Acad. Imp. Sci. Saint-Pétersbourg, Sér. 6, Sci. Math.,
Seconde Pt. Sci. Nat. 7(2): 297 (1846), n.v.]. [Versuch
einer Monographie der Gattung Ephedra 100. 1846. (Mar 1846)!].
In Kern County a low sprawling subshrub
to 15 m or more broad, and up to 1/2 m high, stems rather thin, bright green,
somewhat flaccid or vine-like, terminal branching dichotomous at
45–70°, and with opposite branches below at 90° below apex;
leaves opposite or whorled, connate with pale green sheath, when
opposite similar to some forms of
E.
viridis but not thickened at base, lacking rusty orange near leaf base,
appearing mostly linear, reportedly 3-4 mm long, ciliate along margins
(Foster 1972). Male strobili
described in literature 1-3 per node; cones in Kern County plant terminal on
short to long
curved branches. Seed cones described to have white fleshy bracts, seeds
reportedly 2, brownish black. Distribution in Kern County: three plants observed and
photographed along east side of Erskine Creek, creeping loosely over
talus at base of steep rocky slope. Plants not found when searched for in March 2023.
Similar plants observed elsewhere in Kern County along the Pacific
Crest Trail northeast of Tehachapi and near Caliente.
Native geographical distribution: Generally known from dry, sandy to rocky areas and slopes,
100–1000 m; Afghanistan, Algeria, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gulf
States, India, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman,
Pakistan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sinai, Socotra, Somalia, Sudan,
Tadzhikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Western Sahara, Yemen. Images showing habit and fruit of plant:
Flora of
Qatar, and of herbarium specimens,
SEINet (Ephedra).
Type from Iran: Islamic Republic of Gilan, Aucher-Eloy, P.
M. R. 5338, no date. Isotype: K (K000456219!), P (P00738820 photo); Isolectotype: BM (BM 000884470 photo!). A variable species recognized to
include 12 synonyms. Also reported from a geological formation in
Petrified Forest National Monument in Utah of relatively Recent
geological age (Scott 1960); however, this identification has since been
questioned
(Norbäch-Iversson 2014).
Ephedra foeminea, a Mediterranean species reported
from Santa Barbara County, differs in cones developing on short whorled
branches that often coil.
Cultivation. Ephedra foliata has been reported to
be cultivated at San Marcos Growers Nursery in Santa Barbara; however,
upon further review this may have been E. tweedieana, which is
the only species of Ephedra reported in a search of their
database inventory, a South American species that has a similar vine-like habit
and branching to E. foliata. Ephedra tweedieana
differs by the cones being sessile. An image of
Ephedra tweedieana
is shown on the
San Marcos Growers nursery website (accessed Dec 23, 2023).
They reportedly received their plant from the Huntington Garden
Conservatory in 1997.
They further note that it is also cultivated in the Mildred Mathias
Botanic Garden, and at the UC Davis Arboretum where it
was planted along the slopes of Putah Creek
as a large scale shrubby groundcover. An image of a plant
reportedly cultivated at the UC Davis Arboretum shown on Wikipedia
Commons, identified
Ephedra californica or Ephedra sp. (file name), is
regarded here as E. foliata. It compares well with images of
the
Erskine Creek plants as shown above for both. Foster (1972) reported
obtaining "shoots" of E. foliata plants growing at the University of California
Botanical Garden Berkeley for his study of leaves; however, the
species is not currently listed in their database.
Additional Comments: The name
Ephedra ciliata Fisch and Meyer reportedly published in Bull. Cl. Phys.-Math.
Acad. Imp. Sci. Saint-Pétersbourg 5: 36 (1845) (Kew
Plants of the Online) suggests an earlier
name for
E. foliata. On the other hand. see
Faried et al. 2018 who reported E. ciliata to be an
illegitimate name based on
Kew Plants of the World Online (2017). The reference to the
Kew Online database may have been
subsequently revised.
Ephedra ciliata was accepted by Kew citing 1845 as publication date,
and E. foliata
listed
as synonym (accessed 12/13/2023); however, C. J. Earle (web page date
Mar 2023 for Ephedra tweedieana)
had noted that Meyer's date of 1845 edition was not actually published until 1847
(as reported on the outside cover),
but subsequently recognized an earlier date, 1843. Tropicos cites 1846
for both publications referenced above; however, Meyer in his
1846 monograph indicated an earlier date for E. foliata—by
reinstating the species:
“Ephedra foliata Boiss.”,
“Th., Ketschy plant exisicc. Persiae austr,
N. 866: “Specimen feminea cum amentia nondum explicatia prope ruinas u.
Persepolis Kuh. Ajub lecta.—Species iterum recognoscenda
(emphasis added), ad E.
ciliata accredit, sed habitu stricto differre videtur, --E. alte
simillima est et vix ab illa distinguenda; amenta foeminea, admodum
juvenilia longee minora sunt et illorum vagina inferior, comparata cum
toto amento, amplior apparet.”
[Rough Translation: Ephedra foliata was described by Pierre Edmond Boissier
and published by Meyer
(1846) based on a specimen collected by Theodore Carl Georg Kotschy
(Austrian explorer, Curator, Vienna Nat. hist. Mus. 1835-1843) numbered 866,
from near the
ruins of Persepolis Kuh. Ajub in southern Persia (Iran). It was
described a female specimen with anthers in the female aments (e.g.,
Ephedra sp. from Squirrel Canyon in Kern County) not yet explained—Species to be
recognized again, attributed to E. ciliata, but appears to differ
in strict habit, --E. alte is very similar in height and is
barely distinguishable from it; the female amenta, quite juvenile, are
smaller in length and their lower vagina, compared with the whole
amentum, appears larger. Cones on
a monoecious plant, morphologically similar to E. viridis, included
anthers among a seed cone]. Kotschy collected >300,000
specimens; many described in
“Fl.
orient.”
(“Diagnoses
plantarum orientalium novarum,”
1842-1859, 3 vols.; Stafleu & Cowan TL2, 1976, 1979).
Rydin et al. (2021) showed E. foliata
and E. ciliata within a Mediterranean clade sister to a larger
group: E. alata, aphylla, E. fragilis, E. altissima, which in
their "Non-clock
analysis of plastid data" constituted a larger group sister to
E. foeminea.
Ephedra funerea
Coville & C.V. Morton 1935 [E. californica var. funerea (Coville
& C.V. Morton) L.D. Benson 1943]. Death Valley ephedra, Death Valley
joint fir. Similar in habit to E. nevadensis in the intricate
nearly right-angle branching, differing by the papery scale-leaves in
3’s, ± continuous whitish lines on ridges that give the stems their
whitish green (gray) color, and by the spine-tipped branches. Seeds described as usually 1 (but up to 3),
bottle-shaped (illus., Stevenson in FNA 1993) to ellipsoid (FNA). Nodal
swellings often present, as also in other ephedras, caused by endophytes
or gall midges.
Type from Furnace Creek Canyon, ~3,200 ft.
This species has been considered endemic to the Death Valley region
(Cutler 1939; Munz & Keck 1959); however, the treatment by Ickert-Bond
(JM2) expands its range to Anza Borrego State Park and western Arizona.
CCH data (specimens annotated by Ickert-Bond) suggest it occurs
frequently on limestone, gypsum, margins of alkali dry lakes, and among
lava rocks on summits. Death Valley joint fir scrub provisional
shrubland alliance in MCV2, the species thus appearing common in parts
of the Kingston, Mesquite, and Nopah ranges. Ephedra funerea
is the dominant shrub of the desert slopes surrounding Dante's View.
Kern Co. One collection
reported from from Through Canyon near Inyo County line
observed
by Del Faverno 11/26/2008 (Bristlecone Chapter, iNaturalist,
observation, Plantnet id but no images provided, also in Calflora with
reference to entry by John Malpas, accessed
12/13/2023). Other collections near county line are from lower slopes of Newberry Mt., just south of
Newberry off Interstate Highway 40, from Iron Mt—between Barstow and
Kramer Junction—and from the Argus Mtns., and from near Gorman along Hwy
138 about 3 miles south of the Kern County line. These
reports of E. funerea remain questionable. Ephedra funerea may be
expected in the El Paso Mts. where E.
nevadensis is known (Twisselmann) and in the Piute
Mountains. The two species occur together near Pahrump, NV (Spjut
obs. 2012), whereas in Inyo County, E. funerea may occur with
E. californica. Links:
SEINet,
Calflora,
Calscape
.Ephedra
nevadensis S. Watson 1879
(Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 14: 298).
Nevada ephedra, Nevada joint fir. Stems “pale” green, glaucous, aging gray
green, rigid, densely and intricately branched, many branches
in whorls spreading nearly at 90⁰,
but generally described at 45⁰
(Cutler 1939);
leaves 2
per node, generally scarious, connate ~1/2, free portion triangular
(deltoid) to pointed apex, soon deciduous, leaving a white collar around
node; seed cones appearing in the spring, on a short stalk, or not
stalked in which both sometimes found in the same population, often
clustered among whorled branches, bracts glaucous, largest broadly
ovate, concave; seeds usually 2, elliptical in outline, outer side
hemispherical, inner flat, tapering obtusely to short rounded to pointed
apex, maturing brown.
Primarily deserts of California to Arizona, Utah, and Oregon. Nevada
joint fir scrub recognized in MCV2 when dominant and ≥ 2% absolute cover
in the shrub canopy, ranging in elevation from 1,000–1,800 m. Type from Smoky Valley,
5500 ft (1676 m),
Esmeralda Co. west of Tonopah, NV [Type, S. Watson 1108,
July 1868, with pollen cones, designated by Cutler 1939 ("G Type",
pro.parte!), GH00022597,
designated lectotype by Ickert Bond, May 2002. Type sheet at GH
includes three additional specimens, all determined by E. viridis
by I.M. Johnston (1922) and annotated E. viridis by
Ickert-Bond (May 2002;
; they were
collected from (1) “Pah Ute Mountains,” 5,000 ft, with mature seed, (2)
Eagle Lake, Lassen Co., CA, w/o cones, and (3) location undetermined,
w/o cones. Kern Co.:
Frequent in the Mojave Desert region of Kern Co on rocky slopes of the
Eastern Sierra Nevada, especially along the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT)
northeast of Cameron where may be recognized as an alliance where
alliances of California juniper and
sagebrush are less distinct. Also frequent in broad sandy-gravels wash creosote scrub east of California City
near the San Bernardino County line. Twisselmann reported Nevada ephedra as occasional to scarce on rocky or
gravelly slopes in the Rand and El Paso mountains, and on sand dunes
around the Muroc dry lakes. 609–1524 m (CCH) . Image above from PCT near Cameron, ~1,500 m. Forma
rosea Cutler (1939) distinguished by the “roseate bracts” and
seeds < 5mm; type from Pyramid Lake, NV; and one other specimen reported
from Willow Springs in Kern County (Cutler 1939). A photo of E. cf. nevadensis shown above taken in
May 2016 near Mojave seems to differ by the bracts curving inwards over seeds,
the
cone fruit appearing much like a capsule, and the seeds also differ in their shape
by appearing almost as wide as high, while other plants in Kern County
often differ from the typical form in appearing green instead of
glaucous and having longer recurved branches not always developing from
whorls of branches. A photo taken April 2005 of a plant on Piute
Mt., identified Ephedra sp., appears to be a hybrid,
E. viridis x E. nevadensis.
Links:
SEINet,
Calflora,
Calscape.
Ethnobotanical (Moerman). Apache, White Mountain: Infusion
of stems-leaves for gonorrhea or first stages of syphilis.Cahuilla:
Decoction of twigs to 'clear the system,.' Coahuilla:
unspecified. Navajo: Stem-leaf infusion for kidney and venereal
troubles. Paiute: Twigs for lessening disagreeable flavors;
compound decoction as a salve for burns; stem decoction for venereal
disease. Shoshoni: powdered branches and twigs applied to sores;
decoction to stimulate urination, and for venereal diseases. Zuni:
Infusion of stems-leaves for venereal diseases, especially syphilis.
.
Ephedra viridis Coville 1893.
Green ephedra. Stems green to bright yellow-green,
numerous and
erect,
all mostly parallel to one another, spreading at an
angle of ~30°; leaves 2 per node, pale orange in lower half, or with
pale orange median strip, hyaline above, free to near base or united
to 4/5 their length, clasping to adpressed, not spreading,
deciduous except for basal thickened ring which turns reddish brown to
blackish resinous. Male cones spreading, with pale yellow or yellowish
green to flesh-colored bracts; female cones erect, sessile or on short to long stalks
to 5 cm or more; seeds two.
Widely
distributed in California chaparral and desert, 1,000–7,000 ft, to
Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, Oregon. Green ephedra ("Mormon tea") scrub recognized in MCV2
when ≥1% absolute cover and >30% relative cover with other species
as seen on hillsides above Sand Canyon Road.
Type from
Inyo Co.,
Coso Mtns. above Crystal Spring, CA.
Colville &
Funston 923, (June 12, 1891), annotated by Ickert-Bond May
2002, holotype (US!) [stems
dark green, leaves on young shoots long connate, shallowly notched near
apex, lobes rounded obtuse, occasional pollen cone at nodes]. Coville reported he could not find plants with seed.
Ft. Tejon
& vicinity, L.J.
Xantus de Vasey (1857-58), annotation Ickert-Bond,
May 2007; syntype for E. nevadensis det. by Ickert-Bond, Nov 2007
(US!). Kern Co.:
Occurs most often in pinyon-juniper forest regions of the Sierra Nevada, 360–2,028 m (CCH); also
common in gray pine-interior oak woodland along the Kern River near Lake Isabella.
Noted by Twisselmann to be especially common in the pinyon woodland
around Frazier Park. CCH records also from the Temblor Range and
Inner Coast Ranges.
Ethnobotanical (Moerman). Havasupai: Used as an emetic for
bowel complaints. Hopi: Tonic from stems with flowers for
syphilis. Kawaiisu: Stem infusion for anemia and backaches.
Navajo: Decoction new growth used as cough medicine; infusion of
stems for syphilis. Paiute: infusion of stems for diarrhea (for
children), or for rheumatism, colds, or to purify blood, stomach
ulcers, colds, regulating kidneys, or applied as powder to sores
(also Northern Paiute), to treat stomach ulcers. Shoshone:
Compound infusion to children for diarrhea; twigs as blood purifier;
powdered stems for burns; decoction of root or salted decoction of stems
as a physic, cold remedy Tewa: dried flowers and stems as tonic
for syphilis. Tubatulabal: Decoction of stems for syphilis.
Washo: Decoction of twigs or branch for delayed or difficult
menstruation.
Ephedra viridis is
generally recognized by the erect closely parallel
stems. Variation in the shape and the degree to
which scale leaves are united suggest distinct varieties or species.
Forms with long stalked cones
as shown in the adjacent image from Frazier Park (May 2012), which might be interpreted by some as
belonging to E. coryi, even though cones of E. viridis
are described as not stalked to shortly stalked, also occur elsewhere such as in New Mexico;
they are considered a variable feature of E. viridis (Sivinski
2010). However, other variation such as seen in the Piute Mountains include two tentatively
undetermined species.
One has erect branches, young brownish scale-leaves developing at shore intervals, and
short whorls of branches that appear deciduous (Ephedra sp. B), and a second has
divaricate branches that are 4-angled (Ephedra sp. A). Images of both are
presented above. Plants
on rocky benches above the Kern River just south of Lake Isabella have
longer transparent scale-leaves and also longer photosynthetic leaves.
Links:
SEINet,
Calflora, Calscape
Ephedra viridis, seed and pollen cones
.jpg)
