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Ephedra
Also called Mormon Tea, Ephedras, Joint Firs, Jointfirs, Mormon's Teas
Ephedra is a genus of about 74 species of leafless-looking, green-stemmed desert shrubs (jointfirs, Mormon tea) native to dry regions worldwide. Their photosynthetic green stems and tiny scale leaves let them thrive in full sun and sandy, well-drained, arid conditions.
Ephedra is a genus of gymnosperm shrubs. As of July 2025, 74 species, and two hybrids, are accepted. The species of Ephedra are widespread in many arid regions of the world, ranging across southwestern North America, southern Europe, northern Africa, southwest and central Asia, northern China, and western South America. It is the only extant genus in its family, Ephedraceae, and order, Ephedrales, and one of the three extant genera of the division Gnetophyta together with Gnetum and Welwitschia.
In temperate climates, most Ephedra species grow on shores or in sandy soils with direct sun exposure. Common names in English include joint-pine, jointfir, Mormon-tea, or Brigham tea. The Chinese name for Ephedra species is mahuang (simplified Chinese: 麻黄; traditional Chinese: 麻黃; pinyin: máhuáng; Wade–Giles: ma-huang; lit. 'hemp yellow').
The genus is found in dry and desert regions worldwide, except for Australia.
High-climbing jointfir · Cutler's jointfir · Join · Gerard jointfir · Ephedra intermedia · Dwarf Joint Fir · Nevada jointfir · Ephedra rhytidosperma · Chinese ephedra
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Ephedra (plant) by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
