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Ephedra viridis
Also called Green Ephedra, Green Mormon Tea, Jointfir, Brigham Tea
Ephedra viridis, known by the common names green Mormon tea, Brigham 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.
Information about the chemistry of this species is contradictory. James D. Adams, Jr. and Cecilia Garcia claim it contains no ephedrine, but that it does contain pseudoephedrine. However, a gas chromatograph analysis of samples conducted by Richard F. Keeler found no measurable amount of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, norephedrine, or norpseudoephedrine. The toxic symptoms found in his study were consistent with a high tannin content rather than with alkaloid poisoning.
A tea can be made by boiling the stems, hence the common name, "green Mormon tea".
White Shrubby Horsetail · High-climbing jointfir · Clapweed · Rough jointfir · Ephedra boelckei · Ephedra breana · California jointfir · Ephedra chilensis · Cory's jointfir · Cutler's jointfir · Join · Arizona jointfir
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Ephedra viridis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
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.
