After late July-early August wildfires in western Nevada, green ephedra sprouted
vigorously from surviving roots and root crowns. Green ephedra density and
sprouting response in the next growing season was as follows [109]:
Green ephedra provides some cover for small birds and mammals. The value of green ephedra as cover for wildlife is rated as follows [22]:
CO UT Small mammals Fair Good Small nongame birds Poor Good Upland game birds --- Fair Waterfowl --- PoorGreen ephedra is a native, erect evergreen shrub [13,24] that is drought resistant and winter hardy [73,99]. Growth occurs in the cool season [65].
Green ephedra typically reaches 0.75 to 5 feet (.25 to 1.5 m) in height [18,65,69,99], though it has been reported to grow up to 6 feet (2 m) tall and 10 feet (3 m) wide [92]. It has numerous parallel stems that point upward resembling a broom, with branchlets clustered around nodes. Stems are generally less than 0.12 inch (3 mm) in diameter [18,19,99] and are bright green, with thicker growth developing gray, shreddy bark [18,99]. The jointed branches have small, scale-like, inconspicuous leaves growing opposite on the stem joints [65,69,111].
The fragile [5,75], deep-rooting system of green ephedra consists of several taproots extending almost straight down from the shrub's base, spreading only slightly and subdividing at intervals into somewhat smaller roots [4].
Green ephedra is dioecious [94], producing nut-like seeds partly or entirely enclosed in large bracts that form a cone structure [69]. It has been reported displaying spatial segregation of male and female plants [12,76].
Green ephedra is found extensively in the Great Basin Region, from the southwest corner of Wyoming and western Colorado, south to northern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern California, and north to Harney County, Oregon [19,35,38,39,41,46,47,99,104]. It has also been found in the Colorado, Little Colorado, and San Juan river drainages, and in the Rio Grande drainage south from Santa Fe into west Texas and Chihuahua, Mexico [97].
Green ephedra generally sprouts vigorously from the roots or woody root crown after fire [6,48,99,109] and rapidly produces aboveground biomass from surviving meristematic tissue [26]. Green ephedra has also been documented in southern California as nonsprouting postfire [18]. It is capable of reestablishing disturbed areas through seed [7], though no significant difference was found between its occurrence on seeded versus nonseeded postburn sites in a Great Basin pinyon-juniper woodland [48]. Fires are relatively uncommon in some green ephedra communities due to insufficient fuels [99]. Green ephedra has been found in plant communities with a wide range of fire return intervals, and has been found in ecosystems following large, stand replacing fires as well as small, patchy, erratic fires [61]. Green ephedra establishes early after fire but with relatively low occurrence compared to mid- and late successional stages [48].
FIRE REGIMES:
FIRE REGIMES for plant communities and ecosystems in which green ephedra occurs are summarized below. Find further fire regime information for the plant communities in which this species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under "Find FIRE REGIMES".
An evaluation of plant response to various burning, grazing, and herbicide activities was conducted in a big sagebrush community in Nevada [107]. The response of green ephedra to these activities is described in the table below. Green ephedra had greatest cover on sites burned more than 10 years before and being moderately grazed; cover was lowest on unburned sites with heavy grazing.
Burned, currently moderate grazing Unburned, currently grazed 2,4D treatment, currently grazed (~2 yrs. post treatment) 2,4D and picloram, ungrazed (~2 yrs. post treatment) 2,4D, heavy grazing (10 yrs. post treatment) <10 years postburn >10 years postburn Heavy Moderate Light Heavy Moderate Light 200 plants/ha 300 plants/ha 0 plants/ha 100 plants/ha 200 plants/ha 100 plants/ha 100 plants/ha 200 plants/ha 200 plants/ha 200 plants/haGreen ephedra is found on dry, rocky, open sites in valleys and washes, and on slopes, alluvial fans, mesas, and foothills [4,18,24,41,61,65,107,111]. It is typically found at elevations ranging from 3,000 to 7,500 feet (914-2,286 m) [1,13,14,48,55,65,80,107] though it has been reported at elevations up to 10,000 feet (3,048 m) in California and Utah [80,104]. Green ephedra has been reported growing on north [1,31,61], south [91], southwest, and west aspects [48]. Average precipitation on sites supporting green ephedra ranges from 8 to 15 inches (200-380 mm) [6,48], and green ephedra has been found to require 6 to 10 inches (150-250 mm) annual precipitation [65].
Green ephedra grows primarily on sandy, gravelly or rocky, well-drained, undeveloped soils [13,14,20,47,74,99]. Soil parent material is often granitic [1,49,90,106]. Green ephedra grows well on shallow, medium or deep soils [55,93,99] and is tolerant of calcareous, weakly saline, moderately alkaline, slightly sodic soils [6,34,71,87,99]. It is found on silty loam soils with low infiltration rates [87], but it is intolerant of wet, poorly drained sites [99].
The following sagebrush site characteristics are examples of sites where green ephedra occurs [93]:
basin big sagebrush mountain big sagebrush Wyoming big sagebrush black sagebrush annual precipitation 13+ inches (330 mm) 12-17 inches (300-430 mm)--
-- soil deep, well-drained soil deep, well drained soil, moisture available most of the growing season moderately deep to shallow soil, well-drained, gravelly well drained soil, rocky to gravelly, carbonates present at the soil surface location valleys, foothills mountain brush, pinyon-juniper communities xeric valleys, foothills, gravelly outcrops, high plains, alluvial fans lower foothills, valley edges and bottoms, alluvial fans, rocky ridges and saddles at high elevationsCover values for green ephedra vary based on site characteristics; in Arizona, washes with active soil and gravel deposition had a green ephedra cover value of .5%, while slopes above the washes that had shallow soils and little soil development had a cover value of 1.8%. The transition zone with stabilized soil formed from wash deposits but with no active soil movement had the highest cover value, 3.2% [24].
SAF COVER TYPES [28]:
211 White fir
237 Interior ponderosa pine
239 Pinyon-juniper
240 Arizona cypress
241 Western live oak
243 Sierra Nevada mixed conifer
247 Jeffrey pine
250 Blue oak-foothills pine
ECOSYSTEMS [33]:
FRES21 Ponderosa pine
FRES29 Sagebrush
FRES30 Desert shrub
FRES33 Southwestern shrub steppe
FRES34 Chaparral-mountain shrub
FRES35 Pinyon-juniper
FRES36 Mountain grasslands
FRES40 Desert grasslands
KUCHLER [50] PLANT ASSOCIATIONS:
K018 Pine-Douglas-fir forest
K019 Arizona pine forest
K022 Great Basin pine forest
K023 Juniper-pinyon woodland
K024 Juniper steppe woodland
K033 Chaparral
K037 Mountain-mahogany-oak scrub
K038 Great Basin sagebrush
K039 Blackbrush
K040 Saltbush-greasewood
K041 Creosotebush
K044 Creosotebush-tarbush
K053 Grama-galleta steppe
K054 Grama-tobosa prairie
K055 Sagebrush steppe
K057 Galleta-threeawn shrubsteppe
K058 Grama-tobosa shrubsteppe
K059 Trans-Pecos shrub savanna
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES [77]:
104 Antelope bitterbrush-bluebunch wheatgrass
107 Western juniper/big sagebrush/bluebunch wheatgrass
206 Chamise chaparral
207 Scrub oak mixed chaparral
210 Bitterbrush
211 Creosote bush scrub
212 Blackbrush
320 Black sagebrush-bluebunch wheatgrass
401 Basin big sagebrush
402 Mountain big sagebrush
403 Wyoming big sagebrush
405 Black sagebrush
406 Low sagebrush
408 Other sagebrush types
412 Juniper-pinyon woodland
414 Salt desert shrub
415 Curlleaf mountain-mahogany
416 True mountain-mahogany
417 Littleleaf mountain-mahogany
421 Chokecherry-serviceberry-rose
501 Saltbush-greasewood
502 Grama-galleta
504 Juniper-pinyon pine woodland
505 Grama-tobosa shrub
508 Creosotebush-tarbush
509 Transition between oak-juniper woodland and mahogany-oak association
Green ephedra has been reported to survive range fires [92]. It may also be top-killed by fire in both shrub and grass communities and pinyon-juniper woodlands, reestablishing on-site from both seed and surviving meristematic tissue [7,26,48,99]. Green ephedra has also been described as nonsprouting after fire in chaparral ecosystems of southern California[18].
Green ephedra is an important browse species for big game and domestic livestock [9,21,37,51,53,57,92,111]. It is heavily browsed by livestock and big game on winter range but only moderately or lightly browsed during other seasons [21,42,51]. Green ephedra stems and twigs are nearly all within reach of grazing animals, and can serve as winter forage because they extend above the snow [62,69,81]. Green ephedra is considered a highly important browse species in California due to its wide distribution and relative abundance [69]. Green ephedra is also of importance to small mammals; the stem parts and sizeable seeds are favored by many small mammals [37,97]. The seeds were ranked 12-13 out of 18 and 16 out of 28 in shrub-seed preference of deer mice [27], and are also eaten by mountain quail [57].
Green ephedra is a constituent in a
variety of plant associations but is rarely referred to as a dominant or
subdominant species.
It has, however, been identified as a dominant on the upland bench of
Chaco Canyon, New Mexico in the galleta (Hilaria jamesii)-blue
grama (Bouteloua gracilis)-fourwing saltbush (Atriplex
canescens) vegetation type [20], and in a cold desert community of Wupatki National Monument in northern
Arizona [15]. It has also been identified as a dominant in some sagebrush (Artemisia spp.)-grasslands [6]
and pinyon (Pinus spp.)-juniper (Juniperus spp.)
woodlands [10,30,89,91]. It is often present with
low or moderate occurrence in Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia) [66,99], blackbrush (Coleogyne
ramosissima)
[9,14,32,43,65,73,100,101] desert shrub [13,15,23,35,61,71,72,74,91,98,99,100], sagebrush [7,41,54,56,64,65,72,74,88,93,99,100,101,105,106,108], desert
grassland [58,65,99,100,101,102], and pinyon-juniper communities
[3,13,18,39,42,54,55,61,64,69,74,79,80,86,99,104,106,108].
The following species have been identified as common
associates of green ephedra [99]:
creosotebush (Larrea tridentata)
shadscale (Atriplex confertifolia)
fourwing saltbush
big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata)
galleta
sand dropseed (Sporobolus cryptandrus)
Utah serviceberry (Amelanchier utahensis)
Green ephedra is also associated with the following Utah
juniper (Juniperus osteosperma) habitat types [8]:
Utah juniper/black sagebrush (Artemisia nova)/Indian
rice grass (Achnatherum
hymenoides)
Utah juniper/black sagebrush/rock
Utah juniper/littleleaf mountain-mahogany (Cercocarpus intricatus)
Green ephedra transplants as well as seeds have been
planted with success [16,52]. Container
stock has experienced 100% survival on both irrigated and non-irrigated sites
after two years, with 67% of irrigated stock and 100% of non-irrigated stock
surviving after 5 years [17]. Successful seeding requires a
shallow planting depth of 0.39 to 0.79 inches (1-2 cm) [96].
Mixed results have been found regarding green ephedra's
reponse to grazing. It is described as a constituent of communities that are
productive for grazing in Nevada [91], and has been found in greater abundance
on grazed sites than on ungrazed sites in Canyonlands National Park, Utah [47]. A limited increase
in the presence of green ephedra after grazing has been reported in Utah [47,65], while others found the shrub decreasing or absent on heavily
grazed and recovering sites in Arizona and Utah [43,65,81].
Generally, green ephedra is found on ungrazed sites as well as sites subject to
light or moderate grazing pressure [43], and green ephedra found in Utah's Pine
Valley pinyon-juniper woodlands has demonstrated an increase in live plant cover
following a reduction in grazing [104].
Green ephedra has fair energy and protein value [22]. Specific nutrient values vary according to plant part and seasonal
development. Mineral content was examined in detail in a study at the
Nevada Test Site [97], and the results are as follows:
percent dry weight
Site 2
Site 3
ppm of dry weight
Site 1
Site 2
Site 3
Nutritional value is fairly high in the winter months
relative to dormant grasses [65].
Green ephedra is highly toxic to both
domestic sheep and cows during gestation, even at low doses. It causes ruminal impaction, diarrhea, vomiting, fecal mucus, anorexia,
and in some cases death. However, this study reported no negative effects
on offspring, either lambs or calves. Green ephedra plant tissue contains ephedrine, pseudoephedrine,
norephedrine, N-methyl pseudoephedrine, norpseudoephedrine, N-mehtyl
pseudoephedrine, and a high tannin content [46].
The stems of green ephedra were traditionally brewed by Native Americans to make a nonmedicinal beverage [111,112] as well as a medicinal tea considered to be a remedy for a backache [46,92,112]. Native Americans also made flour and a coffeelike beverage from the seeds [92]. Ephedra species also provided Native Americans with good charcoal for tatooing [112]. Green ephedra can be used for xeriscaping projects [38], and has been widely used as a landscape species for roadsides, mine dumps, and recreational sites. It is valuable for its vivid green color in an often dull gray sagebrush environment [111].
Green ephedra is moderately palatable to all domestic
livestock and many big game species, especially as winter browse [22,37,53,69]. Palatability typically decreases in the summer months
[99]. Overall palatability of green ephedra for domestic livestock and wildlife
is rated as follows [22,37,69]:
CO
CA
UT
Vegetative growth of green ephedra occurs during the cool season [65]. Seed development begins in the spring and seeds mature by late summer [99,111]. Seed maturation dates have been established at July 15 to September 1 [75]. Green ephedra seed germination occurs following a minimum 4-week chill to break seed dormancy [60].
Green ephedra sometimes sprouts vigorously from the roots or woody root crown following fire [107,109]. On a pinyon-juniper woodland site, it was found to be a dominant postfire resprouter and persisted on burns after more than 78 years [98]. After a Nevada wildfire in a late seral big sagebrush community, virtually all green ephedra plants produced new stems [109]. Though green ephedra also reestablishes from seed on-site [7], this same sagebrush community had no green ephedra seedling establishment up to 4 years postburn [109].
Small shrub, adventitious bud/root crown
Ground residual colonizer (on-site, initial community)
Green ephedra regenerates from seed and by sprouting from the roots and woody crown. Green ephedra is readily established from seed [49,52,96], though seed production is erratic under natural conditions, with an abundant seed crop occurring very infrequently [111]. Seeds are pollinated by wind [58,76], and seed dispersal occurs via small mammals [58]. Seeds undergo a period of dormancy, which can be broken by a 4-week prechill [60]. Constant warm temperatures decrease germination rates, suggesting green ephedra responds to the stratification effect of cold periods [111]. Seed remains viable for 5 years stored dry at 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 °C) [96]. Seed germination rates have not been found to drop significantly over 15 years with temperatures ranging from negative 21 to 101 degrees Fahrenheit (-29.9-38.3 °C) [84]. After 15 years stored in an open unheated and uncooled warehouse, germination has been found to decrease significantly, from 88% at 15 years to 24% at 20 years (p<0.05). After 25 years, germination rates dropped to 2% [83].
Vegetative regeneration: Green ephedra has also been identified as a resprouting species following disturbance. It sprouts from root tissue [6,7,26] and woody crown tissue [97,109]. Shrub clumps over an extensive area may represent individuals or multiple clones [109]. Stem cuttings were found to root readily under greenhouse conditions [103].
Green ephedra seedling vigor is described as weak. Initial growth is often slow, with seedlings reaching 2 feet (0.6 m) in height after 5 to 10 years of growth [99]. Many multistemmed plants appear to be single individuals, but are actually 2 or more genetically distinct plants which originated from a common rodent cache [17].
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS [5]:
3 Southern Pacific Border
4 Sierra Mountains
6 Upper Basin and Range
7 Lower Basin and Range
10 Wyoming Basin
11 Southern Rocky Mountains
12 Colorado Plateau
Though not usually reported as a species of major importance, as a plant community component green ephedra occurs in early, mid-, and late successional stages [48,106]. It grows vigorously in full sun and more slowly in partial shade [99]. Green ephedra has been reported as having a cover value of 0% in the first stage (grass-forb) of succession in a pinyon-juniper woodland, 0.8% in the second stage (shrub-tree), and 0.1% in both the third and fourth stages (tree-shrub and tree, respectively) [49]. It appears in both shrub dominated and tree dominated pinyon-juniper and sagebrush sites in the Great Basin [86]. On Spy Mesa in Arizona, green ephedra was identified in both grass-dominated areas (early succession) and shrub-dominated (mid-succession) areas of a pinyon-juniper woodland [87]. In a pinyon-juniper woodland where no successional change occurred over 23 years, green ephedra plants and clumps demonstrated variable increases and decreases in size [91], and green ephedra was present in a nearly mature pinyon-juniper woodland at less than 1% cover [106]. Green ephedra is considered weakly competitive due to its slow growth rate [99].
Green ephedra is listed as a successful shrub for restoring western rangeland communities [63] and can be used to rehabilitate disturbed lands [16,25,29,30,40,66]. It also has value for reducing soil erosion on both clay and sandy soils [65,92]. Green ephedra establishes readily through direct seeding, transplants, and stem cuttings [67,92]. Container-stock green ephedra has potential value for rehabilitation of arid road cuts, with more than 80% of plants surviving for at least 2 years on both north and south exposures. However, major plant losses occurred on the southern exposures during the winter [25]. Container stock also showed high survival along roadsides in the Mojave Desert [16]. Green ephedra also shows promise for reclamation use of surface-mined lands and coal fields in the pinyon-juniper shrubland of Utah [29,30]. Seedlings require protection from trampling by livestock until they are well established [92].
Green ephedra seed is being used to restore disturbed areas to native vegetation, though in 1996 the amount of seed sold (1605 lbs.) by Utah distributors was relatively small compared to sagebrush and saltbrush species [59,82]. Green ephedra has been listed as a species selected for forage, cover, productivity, adaptability and ease of establishment for reseeding degraded rangeland in the Intermountain Region of the United States [40], but green ephedra is very site-specific. When seeded on marginal or poor sites, green ephedra plants are less vigorous and fail to spread by natural seed; the young plants grow slowly and do not survive if subjected to herbaceous competition [62]. Green ephedra is highly sensitive to soil salinity; on soil with conductivity of 0.20 mmhos/cm plants displayed normal, healthy growth and color, but on soil with conductivity of 6.92-25.8 mmhos/cm, all green ephedra plants died within the first three months [97]. On studies of disturbed sites, green ephedra was found to be poorly suited for mixed-seed revegetation due to its inability to compete with grass and legume seed mixtures [29,36].
Germination rates of seed be improved by a period of afterripening [96]; fresher seed lots had germination rates of 28% over a 28 day period, whereas older seed lots experienced full germination over 28 days [60]. In laboratory tests, optimum germination of seeds was achieved with alternating temperature regimes with 16 hour cold periods of 35.6 to 41 degrees Fahrenheit (2-5 °C) and 8 hour warm periods of 59 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit (15-25 °C) [111].
Ephedra viridis, known by the common names green Mormon tea, green ephedra, and Indian tea, is a species of Ephedra. It is indigenous to the Western United States, where it is a member of varied scrub, woodland, desert, and open habitats. It grows at 900–2,300 metres (3,000–7,500 ft) elevations.
The Ephedra viridis shrub is woody below, topped with many dense clusters of erect bright green twigs. They may yellow somewhat with age.
Nodes along the twigs are marked by the tiny pairs of vestigial leaves, which start out reddish but soon dry to brown or black. Since the leaves are no longer functional, the stems are green and photosynthetic.[2]
Male plants produce pollen cones at the nodes, each under a centimeter long with protruding yellowish sporangiophores. Female plants produce seed cones which are slightly larger and contain two seeds each.
The drug ephedrine, an antidepressant and decongestant, is made from this and other Ephedra species. A tea can be made by boiling the stems,[2] whence the common name, "green Mormon tea".
The plant was used medicinally by both Native Americans and the ancient Chinese (using their own local species of the genus) to treat various afflictions including sexually transmitted diseases such as gonorrhea and syphilis, kidney diseases, and complications with menstruation.[3][4] Native American tribes such as the Shoshone and Paiute boiled tea using the stem of the plant and combined it with the bark of Purshia tridentata, another shrub.[3]
In modern medicine, the plant is to treat sinus illnesses such as hay fever, common colds, and sinusitis. This use is supported by clinical trials, as is its treatment of bronchial asthma.[4]
Because the plant can be used as an appetite suppressant, it is used illegally by some athletes to lose weight and build muscle.[3]
Because it is toxic, the plant should not be ingested without a doctor’s recommendation.[4]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) {{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) Ephedra viridis, known by the common names green Mormon tea, green ephedra, and Indian tea, is a species of Ephedra. It is indigenous to the Western United States, where it is a member of varied scrub, woodland, desert, and open habitats. It grows at 900–2,300 metres (3,000–7,500 ft) elevations.
