Ephedra distachya L.

Sea grape (en), Raisin-de-mer (fr), Éphèdre à deux épis (fr), Éphèdre à chatons opposés (fr), Éphèdre de Suisse (fr)

Species

Gymnosperms > Gnetales > Ephedraceae > Ephedra

Characteristics

Shrubs small or subshrubs, to 25(-40) cm; stems often procumbent; branchlets grayish green or more rarely yellowish green, apex often curved or twisted. Leaves opposite, connate for 1/3-2/3 their length, free part triangular, apex obtuse or subacute. Pollen cones solitary or in clusters of 3 at apex of short branchlets, often pedunculate; bracts in 4 pairs; staminal column ca. 2 mm, exserted, with 7 or 8 sessile or shortly stipitate anthers. Seed cones terminal in short branchlets or axillary, narrowly ovoid; bracts in 3 or 4 pairs, with narrow, membranous margins, apical pair connate for ca. 1/3 their length, red and fleshy at maturity; integument tube 1-1.5 mm, straight. Seeds usually 2, dark brown, glossy, ovoid, 4-5 × 2-3 mm, smooth. Pollination May-Jun, seed maturity Jul. 2n = ?24*, 28*, ?36*.
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A low, creeping evergreen shrub. It grows about 1 m high. It spreads 90 cm wide. The branches are slender and erect. The leaves are like scales. The fruit is oval and succulent. It is pale or bright red when ripe. Fruit are 6-7 mm across.
Life form perennial
Growth form shrub
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality dioecy
Pollination anemogamy
Spread endozoochory
Mature width (meter) 1.0
Mature height (meter) 1.0
Root system creeping-root
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

Semi-desert and desert regions and on gritty slopes on the Russian steppes. Grasslands, sandy places and rocky mountain slopes below 900 metres in China.
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It is a temperate plant. It grows in rocky places, sandy shores and stream banks in Mediterranean countries. It suits hardiness zones 4-9.
Light 7-9
Soil humidity 1-5
Soil texture 4-6
Soil acidity 3-7
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 5-8

Usage

The fruit are eaten fresh. Caution: The stems contain ephedrine which can be addictive.
Uses erosion control food material medicinal species stabilisation of sandy soils
Edible fruits leaves
Therapeutic use Alterative (unspecified), Diuretic (unspecified), Fever (unspecified), Flu (unspecified), Malaria (unspecified), Nephritis (unspecified), Puerperium (unspecified), Stomachic (unspecified), Sudorific (unspecified), Tonic (unspecified), Asthma (unspecified), Cough (unspecified), Diaphoretic (unspecified), Astringent (unspecified), Collyrium (unspecified), Chest (unspecified), Febrifuge (unspecified), Poison (unspecified), Scabies (unspecified), Syphilis (unspecified), Antitussive (unspecified), Diuretics (unspecified), Expectorants (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Plants can be grown by seed or by division.
Mode seedlings
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -23
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Habit

Ephedra distachya habit picture by Antoine Ambard (cc-by-sa)
Ephedra distachya habit picture by Martin Bishop (cc-by-sa)
Ephedra distachya habit picture by Tomaž Jančar (cc-by-sa)

Leaf

Ephedra distachya leaf picture by Antoine Ambard (cc-by-sa)
Ephedra distachya leaf picture by Pogon Ophio (cc-by-sa)
Ephedra distachya leaf picture by Miguel Moreno (cc-by-sa)

Flower

Ephedra distachya flower picture by Jean-Claude Serre (cc-by-sa)
Ephedra distachya flower picture by Michel Woitiez (cc-by-sa)
Ephedra distachya flower picture by Jakub Mrazek (cc-by-sa)

Fruit

Ephedra distachya fruit picture by Lucie Donadille (cc-by-sa)
Ephedra distachya fruit picture by adrien murguet (cc-by-sa)
Ephedra distachya fruit picture by Sofyangie AA (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Ephedra distachya world distribution map, present in Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Switzerland, China, Czech Republic, Spain, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Kazakhstan, Romania, Russian Federation, Turks and Caicos Islands, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and United States of America

Conservation status

Ephedra distachya threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:383381-1
WFO ID wfo-0000794343
COL ID 6FNF9
BDTFX ID 75107
INPN ID 96101
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Chaetocladus distachys Ephedra distachya f. circinnata Ephedra distachya f. caspia Ephedra vulgaris Ephedra polygonoides Ephedra distachya var. media Ephedra distachya subsp. monostachya Ephedra vulgaris var. media Ephedra vulgaris var. monostachya Ephedra vulgaris var. arborea Ephedra vulgaris var. minor Ephedra vulgaris var. submonostachya Ephedra distachya var. caspia Ephedra distachya

Lower taxons

Ephedra distachya subsp. distachya Ephedra distachya subsp. helvetica