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Ephedra gerardiana
Gerard's jointfir is a small, leafless-looking perennial shrub from high mountains, grown mainly for its stems and medicinal use rather than as an ornamental. The key to growing it is full sun, excellent drainage and cold hardiness, since it is adapted to harsh subalpine and subarctic conditions.
Ephedra gerardiana (Gerard's jointfir, 山岭麻黄 shan ling ma huang) is a species of Ephedra, endemic to the mountains of Afghanistan, Bhutan, Northern India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sikkim, Tajikistan, and Tibet. It is a perennial small shrub composed primarily of fibrous stalks, generally about 8 inches though sometimes growing to 24 inches in height, with small, yellow flowers followed by round, red, edible fruits. It is sometimes used as a stimulant, and in Ayurvedic medicine its tea is used as medicine for colds, coughs, bronchitis, asthma, and arthritis.
High-climbing jointfir · Cutler's jointfir · Join · Ephedra intermedia · Dwarf Joint Fir · Nevada jointfir · Ephedra rhytidosperma · Chinese ephedra · Jointfir
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Ephedra gerardiana 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.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
