Ephedra funerea is a species of Ephedra, known by the common name Death Valley jointfir, Death Valley ephedra, or Mormon Tea.

Death Valley jointfir

Vulnerable  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Gymnospermae
Division: Gnetophyta
Class: Gnetopsida
Order: Ephedrales
Family: Ephedraceae
Genus: Ephedra
Species:
E. funerea
Binomial name
Ephedra funerea

It is native to the Mojave Desert of California, Arizona and Nevada. It is named after a population in the Funeral Mountains, in Death Valley National Park.[2][3]

Native Americans and Mormon pioneers drank a tea brewed from this plant called Mormon Tea or Indian Tea.

Description

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The Ephedra funerea shrub is made up of erect twigs which are gray-green when new and age to gray and cracked. There are tiny leaves at nodes along the twigs. Male plants produce pollen cones at the nodes which are up to 8 millimeters long, and female plants produce seed cones which are slightly longer and may grow on stalks.[4][5]

References

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  1. ^ "NatureServe Explorer 2.0".
  2. ^ Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  3. ^ Biota of North America Program, 2013 county distribution map
  4. ^ Jepson Manual Treatment: Ephedra funerea
  5. ^ Flora of North America
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