Ephedra intermedia

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Ephedra intermedia
Ephedra-intermedia-habitus.jpg
Ephedra intermedia
Female cone of Ephedra intermedia - journal.pone.0053652.g002-C.png
Female cone
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Gymnosperms
Division: Gnetophyta
Class: Gnetopsida
Order: Ephedrales
Family: Ephedraceae
Genus: Ephedra
Species:
E. intermedia
Binomial name
Ephedra intermedia
Synonyms [1]
  • Ephedra ferganensisV.A.Nikitin
  • Ephedra microspermaV.A.Nikitin
  • Ephedra persica(Stapf) V.A.Nikitin
  • Ephedra tesquorumV.A.Nikitin
  • Ephedra tibetica(Stapf) V.A.Nikitin
  • Ephedra validaV.A.Nikitin

Ephedra intermedia, with the Chinese common name of Zhong Ma Huang, is a species of Ephedra that is native to Siberia, Central Asia, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the western Himalayas, Tibet, Mongolia, and China. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Description

Ephedra intermedia is found in deserts, grasslands, floodlands and river valleys, slopes and cliffs, and sandy beaches. It grows at elevations of 100–4,600 metres (330–15,090 ft), in rocky or sandy dry habitats.

The plant grows to 1 metre (3.3 ft) tall. The strobili are dioecious, either male or female on any one plant, so both male and female plants are needed for seeds.

Taxonomy

It was originally described by Alexander Gustav von Schrenk and Carl Anton von Meyer in 1846. It was placed in section Pseudobaccatae (=sect. Ephedra sect. Ephedra), "tribe" Pachycladae by Otto Stapf in 1889.

In 1996 Robert A. Price classified E. intermedia in section Ephedra without recognizing a tribe. [4]

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<i>Ephedra viridis</i> Species of seed-bearing shrub

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Ephedra multiflora is a species of Ephedra that is native to northern Chile and Northwest Argentina.

<i>Ephedra torreyana</i> Species of seed-bearing shrub

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Ephedra fragilis, commonly named the joint pine, is a species of Ephedra that is native to the western Mediterranean region of southern Europe and Northern Africa, and from Madeira and the Canary Islands in the Atlantic.

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References

  1. 1 2 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. Peschkova, G.A. (2005). Synopsis of the Siberian Ephedra species (Ephedraceae). Botanicheskii Zhurnal. Moscow & Leningrad 90: 423-436.
  3. Flora of China, Vol. 4 Page 98, 中麻黄 zhong ma huang, Ephedra intermedia Schrenk ex C. A. Meyer, Mém. Acad. Imp. Sci. Saint-Pétersbourg, Sér. 6, Sci. Math., Seconde Pt. Sci. Nat. Sci. Nat. 5: 278 1846
  4. Price, R. A. (1996). Systematics of the Gnetales: A review of morphological and molecular evidence. International Journal of Plant Sciences, 157(6): S40-S49.