Ephedra gerardiana Wall. ex Stapf

Gerard jointfir (en)

Species

Gymnosperms > Gnetales > Ephedraceae > Ephedra

Characteristics

Shrubs small, to 15 cm; woody stems buried in soil, parts above ground scabrous, rarely almost smooth; branchlets directed upward, dark green, later brown, short, stout, usually with 1-3 nodes, internodes 1-1.5(-2) cm × 1.5-2 mm, longitudinally furrowed, often scabridulous. Leaves opposite, 2-3 mm, connate for ca. 2/3 their length. Pollen cones solitary or 2 at nodes, small, 2-5 × ca. 2 mm, sessile; bracts in 3 or 4(-6) pairs; staminal column exserted for ca. 1/2 its length, with 8 sessile anthers. Seed cones solitary, sessile or shortly pedunculate, subglobose at maturity, 5-7 mm in diam.; bracts in 2 or 3 pairs, connate for 1/4-1/3 their length, the apical pair for ca. 2/3 their length, red and fleshy at maturity; integument tube short, ca. 1 mm. Seeds 1 or 2, oblong or obovoid-oblong, 4-6 × 1.5-3 mm, exserted, apex obtuse or subacuminate. Pollination Jul, seed maturity Aug-Sep. 2n = 14*, 28*, 56*.
More
A creeping evergreen shrub. The branches are thin and dark green. It grows 30 cm high. It spreads 1.8 m wide. The leaves are reduced to sheaths at the nodes of the branches. The male flowers are in single spikes. The female flowers occur singly. The fruit are small and purple. They have a sticky juice.
Life form perennial
Growth form shrub
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality dioecy
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) 1.8
Mature height (meter) 0.55 - 0.6
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 temperate plant. It grows well over rocky banks. It grows in dry and temperate regions between 2,300-5,100 m altitude in the Indian Himalayas. It suits hardiness zones 7-10.
More
Stony slopes and gravel terraces in drier areas of the Himalayas at 2400-5000 metres from Afghanistan to Bhutan.
Light 7-9
Soil humidity 1-5
Soil texture 4-6
Soil acidity 3-8
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 7-9

Usage

The ripe fruit are eaten. It contains alkaloids including ephedrine.
Uses material medicinal species wood
Edible fruits seeds
Therapeutic use Antirheumatic agents (aerial part), Asthma (aerial part), Common cold (aerial part), Diarrhea (bark), Asthma (fruit), Cardiotonic agents (fruit), Fatigue (fruit), Heart diseases (fruit), Lung diseases (fruit), Respiratory tract diseases (fruit), Hydrocele (fruit), Anti-inflammatory agents (leaf), Asthma (leaf), Lung diseases (leaf), Antirheumatic agents (root), Appetite stimulants (root), Asthma (root), Cardiotonic agents (root), Diuretics (root), Fever (root), Hemostatics (root), General tonic for rejuvenation (root), Syphilis (root), Wounds and injuries (root), Arthralgia (shoot), Antirheumatic agents (stem), Asthma (stem), Bronchitis (stem), Cardiotonic agents (stem), Fever (stem), Headache (stem), Heart diseases (stem), Hemostatics (stem), Hypersensitivity (stem), Lung diseases (stem), Nasal disease (stem), Rhinitis, allergic, seasonal (stem), Sunburn (stem), Syphilis (stem), Hydrocele (stem), Asthma (unspecified), Cardiotonic (unspecified), Circulation-Tonic (unspecified), Hypotensive (unspecified), Antipyretics (unspecified), Antirheumatic agents (unspecified), Arthralgia (unspecified), Bronchial diseases (unspecified), Bronchitis (unspecified), Cardiotonic agents (unspecified), Cholestasis (unspecified), Common cold (unspecified), Cough (unspecified), Diuretics (unspecified), Edema (unspecified), Expectorants (unspecified), Fatigue (unspecified), Fever (unspecified), Headache (unspecified), Heart diseases (unspecified), Hematologic diseases (unspecified), Hemorrhage (unspecified), Hypertension (unspecified), Insecticides (unspecified), Kidney diseases (unspecified), Liver injury (unspecified), Liver diseases (unspecified), Malaria (unspecified), Nervous system diseases (unspecified), Nasal disease (unspecified), Pneumonia (unspecified), General tonic for rejuvenation (unspecified), Respiratory tract diseases (unspecified), Rhinitis (unspecified), Rhinitis, allergic, seasonal (unspecified), Sepsis (unspecified), Sinusitis (unspecified), Splenomegaly (unspecified), Syphilis (unspecified), Hydrocele (unspecified), Uterine diseases (unspecified), Wounds and injuries (unspecified), Diaphoretic (unspecified), Contraceptive agents (whole plant)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

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

Images

Ephedra gerardiana unspecified picture

Distribution

Ephedra gerardiana world distribution map, present in Afghanistan, China, Nepal, and Pakistan

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:60458243-2
WFO ID wfo-0000794371
COL ID 6FNFX
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Ephedra gerardiana

Lower taxons

Ephedra gerardiana var. sikkimensis