Kingdom Plantae Order Ephedrales Genus Ephedra Higher classification Ephedra | Division Gnetophyta Family Ephedraceae Scientific name Ephedra aspera Rank Species | |
Similar Ephedra, Ephedra fasciculata, Ephedra californica, Ephedra antisyphilitica, Ephedra funerea | ||
Ephedra aspera is a species of Ephedra known by the common names rough jointfir, boundary ephedra, and pitamoreal.
It is native to the southwestern United States from California to Texas and parts of northern Mexico as far south as Zacatecas. It is a resident of varied woodland and scrub plant communities.
Description
Ephedra aspera is a highly branched shrub often exceeding 1 metre (3.3 ft) in height made up of many long yellow-gold twigs. Its small leaves are just a few millimeters long. Male plants bear pollen cones 4 to 7 millimeters long. Female plants may be darker to reddish in color, bearing seed cones which are slightly larger than those of the male plant and contain only one seed each.
References
Ephedra aspera Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA