Ephedra americana Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.

Species

Gymnosperms > Gnetales > Ephedraceae > Ephedra

Characteristics

A sprawling shrub. It normally grows 2.4 m high but can be a small tree 3.5 m high. The young shoots are green and finely ridged. The leaves are small and fall quickly. They are 6 mm long. The fruit are berries which are 12 mm long. They are red or orange.
Life form -
Growth form shrub
Growth support -
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality dioecy
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 2.2
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

It is a tropical plant that grows in the Andes. It is frost hardy. They need light sandy or stony soil with good drainage. In Argentina it grows from sea level to 1,000 m above sea level. It suits hardiness zones 6-9.
More
Not known
Light 7-9
Soil humidity 1-3
Soil texture 5-6
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 8-11

Usage

The fruit are eaten raw.
Uses medicinal
Edible fruits
Therapeutic use Diuretic (unspecified), Depurative (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Plants are grown from seed.
Mode seedlings
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Ephedra americana unspecified picture

Distribution

Ephedra americana world distribution map, present in Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Ecuador, and Peru

Conservation status

Ephedra americana threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:383352-1
WFO ID wfo-0000794292
COL ID 6FND2
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Ephedra peruviana Ephedra americana var. humboldtii Ephedra americana