American Ephedra

The hybrid Ephedra × intermixta is discussed under E . torreyana.

Shrubs erect, 0.5--5 m. Bark gray, cracked and irregularly fissured. Branches alternate or whorled, rigid, angle of divergence about 30°. Twigs pale green, becoming yellow, then gray with age, glaucous, with numerous very fine longitudinal grooves; internodes 3--10 cm. Terminal buds spinelike, to 10 mm. 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. 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. Seed 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. Seeds 1(--3), ellipsoid, 8--15 × 1.5--3 mm, light brown, smooth.

Ariz., Calif., N.Mex., Tex.; Mexico in Baja California, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Sonora.

Coning late winter--early spring. Dry rocky slopes to flat sandy areas; 500--2000m.

Shrub, Evergreen, Dioecious, Habit erect, Trees without or rarely having knees, Primary plant stem smooth, Young shoots 3-dimensional, Terminal buds spine-like, Buds not resinous, Leaves scale-like, Leaves whorled, Leaves mostly not photosynthetic, Non-needle-like leaf margins entire, Leaf apex acute, Leaf apex mucronulate, Leaves < 5 cm long, Leaves < 10 cm long, Leaves yellow-green above, Leaves yellow-green below, Leaves yellow below, Leaves grey-green, Leaves not blue-green, Leaf bases becoming gray and shredded with age, Scale leaves without raised glands, Scale leaf glands not ruptured, Scales leaves not or barely overlapping, Twigs glabrous, Twigs not viscid, Twigs without peg-like projections or large fascicles after needles fall, Berry-like cones copper, Bracts of seed cone included, Seeds tan, Seeds brown, Seeds wingless.

Ephedra trifurca is a species of Ephedra known by the common names longleaf jointfir and Mexican tea.

It is native to the states of Baja California, Chihuahua and Sonora in northwestern Mexico, and to California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas in the Southwestern United States. It is found in desert scrub plant communities, in the Chihuahuan Desert, Sonoran Desert, and Colorado Desert.