Ephedra

Read about Ephedra in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
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Ephedra

Ephedra distachya in France

Plant Info

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Gnetophyta
Class:	Gnetopsida
Order:	Ephedrales
Family:	Ephedraceae
Genus:	Ephedra L.

Species

See text.

This article is about the genus Ephedra. For the use of the plant in medicine, see Ephedra.

Ephedra is a genus of gymnosperm shrubs, the only genus in the family Ephedraceae and order Ephedrales. These plants occur in dry climates over a wide area mainly in the Northern Hemisphere, across southern Europe, north Africa, southwest and central Asia, southwestern North America, and, in the Southern Hemisphere, in South America south to Patagonia. They are also called Joint-pine, Jointfir, or Mormon-tea. The Chinese name is 麻黄, má huáng, which means "yellow hemp". Ephedra is also sometimes called sea grape (from the French raisin de mer), although that is also a common name for Coccoloba uvifera.

Medical Uses

Main article: Ephedra

Plants of the Ephedra genus, including E. sinica and others, have traditionally been used by indigenous people for a variety of medicinal purposes, including treatment of asthma, hay fever, and the common cold.^[1] They have also been proposed as a candidate for the Soma plant of Indo-Iranian religion. The alkaloids ephedrine and pseudoephedrine are active constituents of E. sinica and other members of the genus. These compounds are sympathomimetics with stimulant and decongestant qualities and are related chemically to the amphetamines.

Species

The following list of species is from the Gymnosperm Database page for Ephedra.

Ephedra alata Decne
Ephedra altissima Desf.
Ephedra antisyphilitica Berl. ex C.A.Meyer - Clapweed, Erect Ephedra
Ephedra aspera Engelm. ex S.Wats. - Boundary Ephedra, Pitamoreal
Ephedra californica S.Wats. - California Ephedra, California Jointfir
Ephedra coryi E.L.Reed - Cory's Ephedra
Ephedra cutleri Peebles - Navajo Ephedra, Cutler's Ephedra, Cutler Mormon-tea, Cutler's Jointfir
Ephedra distachya L. - Joint-pine, Jointfir
- Ephedra distachya subsp. helvetica (C.A.Meyer) Aschers. & Graebn.
Ephedra equisetina Bunge - Ma huang
Ephedra fasciculata A.Nels. - Arizona Ephedra, Arizona Jointfir, Desert Mormon-tea
Ephedra fedtschenkoae Pauls.
Ephedra fragilis Desf.
- Ephedra fragilis subsp. campylopoda (C.A.Meyer) Aschers. & Graebn.
Ephedra frustillata Miers - Patagonian Ephedra
Ephedra funerea Coville & Morton - Death Valley Ephedra, Death Valley Jointfir
Ephedra gerardiana Wallich ex C.A.Meyer - Gerard's Jointfir, Shan Ling Ma Huang
Ephedra intermedia Schrenk ex C.A.Meyer
Ephedra lepidosperma C.Y.Cheng

Ephedra distachya
Ephedra likiangensis Florin
Ephedra macedonica Kos.
Ephedra major Host
- Ephedra major subsp. procera Fischer & C.A.Meyer
Ephedra minuta Florin
Ephedra monosperma C.A.Meyer
Ephedra nevadensis S.Wats. - Nevada Ephedra, Nevada Jointfir, Nevada Mormon-tea
Ephedra pedunculata Engelm. ex S.Wats. - Vine Ephedra, Vine Jointfir
Ephedra przewalskii Stapf
- Ephedra przewalskii var. kaschgarica (B.Fedtsch. & Bobr.) C.Y.Cheng
Ephedra regeliana Florin - Xi Zi Ma Huang
Ephedra saxatilis (Stapf) Royle ex Florin
Ephedra sinica Stapf - Cao Ma Huang, Chinese ephedra
Ephedra torreyana S.Wats. - Torrey's Ephedra, Torrey's Jointfir, Torrey's Mormon-tea, Cañutillo
Ephedra trifurca Torrey ex S.Wats. - Longleaf Ephedra, Longleaf Jointfir, Longleaf Mormon-tea, Popotilla, Teposote
Ephedra viridis Coville - Green Ephedra, Green Mormon-tea